The young Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles have had a roller-coaster season so far.
From the high of an upset win over the Far Eastern Univeristy Tamaraws, the young Blue Eagles have suffered back-to-back defeats to rival De La Salle University and neighbor University of the Philippines to go back down to 0.500.
Going into the season though, the Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin and the team’s staff already expected that this would happen, especially with a young squad that only parades two fifth-year players (Vince Tolentino and G-Boy Babionia).
“It’s not one of the times when you want to say that ‘I told you so’ but it’s going to be the kind of year where we will experience tough losses along the way,” head coach Tab Baldwin said after Ateneo suffered a heartbreaking 56-52 loss to UP on Saturday evening.
The Ateneo engine never got going in the game against UP, shooting just 30 percent from the field – 2-of-24 from downtown – and committing 21 turnovers.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight. Credit to UP for making defensive adjustments. Our shooters had a difficult night tonight, they shot just 2-of-24 tonight from three,” the American-Kiwi mentor reflected.
“They have to live with those and find other ways. We only put 52 points on the boards and that’s not going to get it done on some nights.
“When you combine the poor shooting, the turnovers, and the rebounding, it will be hard to win a basketball game,” he furthered.
Teaching a young team is one of the tough tasks any collegiate coach has to go through. And for Baldwin and the Blue Eagles, it’s still a process that will bear fruit in the long run.
“We have to recognize defenses better. We have to learn the game. We are short of experience and basketball knowledge on this team. We are trying to progress better as quick as we can,” he said.
“With such a young team, we want the timeouts to be five minutes instead of just one. It’s just hard to get cohesion and unless we are doing what we are exactly doing in practices. But they are learning.
“What can I say? We have to find ways.”
Still, Baldwin remains vigilant with the team he has dedicated himself to and will continue the process he had started.
“Same thing we’ve been working on. We’re trying to teach these kids the game of basketball. We didn’t go into this year with grand aspirations for what this team is going to achieve,” the mentor said.
“We went into this year to gain as much wins as possible.”
“I told you guys before the season started that we are a possession by possession, quarter by quarter, half by half, and game by game kind of team. We’re not going to talk about how we can be 12-5 [in an instant], that’s just silly. We will continue to teach this team the game of basketball,” he added. “If we are there at the end of the second round and in the playoffs, we will be a better team after every game.
“But it’s truly a process. I know it’s a cliche but there’s something to cliches if people use them all the time.”
