Tab Baldwin’s contract is set to expire in 2025.
After the Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, Baldwin will be left waiting to learn his future with the Blue Eagles, the team he has led to four UAAP titles.
Baldwin has left his fate as Ateneo head coach in the hands of the university’s management.
However, he quickly denied the report from New Zealand of an offer from the Tall Blacks for a coaching position.
“I don’t have any offer from anybody. I have a contract in 2025,” the 66-year-old tactician told reporters during the UAAP press conference at the Novotel on Wednesday.
“You know, anytime there’s a coaching change in a significant place like a national team in New Zealand, people will speculate.”
Concerning his future, Baldwin remains committed to Ateneo until the time he is asked to leave.
“My future is up to Ateneo. That’s up to boss MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan). Maybe it’s up to how we do this year.”
However, Baldwin wants to put these rumors behind him as he focuses on the upcoming Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
The decorated Ateneo coach will rely on the growth of co-captains Sean Quitevis and Chris Koon to lead the Blue Eagles through the challenging road ahead, with heightened competition expected in Season 87.
“They were captains last year, and I think that was a great learning experience despite last year not being a great year for us,” Baldwin said.
“Through those situations, I’m sure that Chris and Sean grew a lot, and they’ve done a good job leading this very young team.”
Ahead of their upcoming UAAP campaign, the former national team tactician feels most encouraged by the resilience of this Blue Eagles squad.
Ateneo has faced shocking transfers and stunning losses in pre-season tilts, culminating in what was a ‘down’ off-season.
“Because of their resilience, along with the leadership experience, I’m excited. I think the challenge is huge, and I’m just a guy who loves challenges,” he added.
Despite the uncertainties, the future remains bright for the Katipunan-based squad, especially with the addition of ‘matured leaders’ like Jared Bahay and Kristian Porter.
Baldwin noted that having these highly touted rookies in their fold is a welcome sight, given their intelligence, leadership, and winning mentality this early in their collegiate careers.
“I think because we have so many first-year players, it’s good that we have natural leaders among them because they’re kind of their own clique within the team,” the former Tall Blacks coach shared.
“One thing that generally we can say about our players is that they bring a high level of intelligence and a seriousness about themselves as college students and college basketball players,” he added.
However, Baldwin acknowledged that for Bahay and Porter to maximize their full potential with the Blue Eagles, they will need to go through the inevitable growing pains during their rookie campaigns.
“They gotta go through the process of getting blooded by the UAAP experience. The more success and growing pains we have early in the season, that can bode well for later success. That’s really our short-term goal.”
