COACH Tab Baldwin lauded the character of his Ateneo team after an impressive performance in the 40th William Jones Cup last week in Chinese-Taipei.
The Blue Eagles were thrown in at the deep end after being tasked to represent the country on short notice in such a high-level competition facing the national teams of South Korea and Chinese Taipei.
Still the team fell just short of a podium finish, finishing in fourth place with 5-3 (win-loss) card that Baldwin said speaks volumes about the team's character.
"What isn’t just is we were really not ready to represent the country, not ready to represent Ateneo. We wanted to begin representing ourselves to be ready for September 8 (start of the UAAP Season)," said Baldwin during the homecoming lunch presented by chief backer Chooks to Go.
"It was a bit premature to put this team with such a heavy burden. I think it’s a testimony to the character of the team. I think that's the character that boss Ronald (Mascarinas) and the entire country seem to admire. It's that character that makes them true sportsmen," he added.
Baldwin said the team's fighting spirit and competitiveness was on display after the loss to Iran.
'We had come out fourth. I expected a sense of relief but that’s not what I saw. I saw rejection (from players) who felt we could have done better," said Baldwin.
"It was heartening for me as a coach to have a will to be great. Personally, I wanna thank the players for that attitude. Job well done. But half done, a lot of work to do."
That same character is what makes this team tick, according to Baldwin.
"I think when you have those elements in place, playing the game the right way becomes much easier. That doesn’t guarantee results, that doesn’t guarantee you impress your opponents. The fact that we had success there, I think that’s important," Baldwin said.
"This truly was a tournament was a bridge too far from our team, these are very strong teams, basketball programs. So to pit ourselves against this level of competition and to be standing at the end, maybe not the champion but to be still standing, I think speaks positively about this team."
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