THE Ateneo Blue Eagles defeated Changwon LG Sakers, 79-76, in their tune-up game on Monday night at the Kerry Sports Manila.
The Blue Eagles escaped with the win against a pro team that is gearing up for the upcoming season of the Korean Basketball League when Filipino import Justin Gutang missed a three in the final seconds.
The match against the Sakers was the Blue Eagles’ second tune-up game against a foreign team on local shores after having played in Israel and Japan as part of the preparation for the UAAP, where the Blue Eagles hope to reclaim the crown they lost to the UP Maroons last season.
[READ: Bay Area deputy impressed by 'drilled' Ateneo side]
Previously, the Blue Eagles lost a close game to the Bay Area Dragons, 102-93.
Baldwin played down the fighting performance of the Blue Eagles against foreign teams, saying that the UAAP setting is still a much different environment.
“Adamson and Blackwater are the only local teams we played. And both of them gave us a pretty good beating. Maybe we want to go on tour more,” said Baldwin with a smile.
“But we know that the UAAP is a different animal and a different mindset there. Not having played in the Filoil [Preseason Cup], we have to quickly figure out exactly what we want to do against UAAP caliber and mindset. That’s what we still have to adjust to,” he added.
Baldwin cited the Adamson scrimmage as an example where Ateneo didn’t play the way they were supposed to.
Still, the former Gilas Pilipinas coach is glad to see the Blue Eagles respond in the LG Sakers game in during the final phase of their gear-up for the coming season of the UAAP.
“What you don’t appreciate is that we played Adamson on Saturday and we were horrible. Like really horrible. And Adamson was good. They contributed to us being bad but we had something wrong with our mentality. And it’s not acceptable. And the players knew that it was not acceptable,” said Baldwin.
Baldwin said the team had a long meeting after the Adamson contest.
“We talked for a long time after the game; had a long meeting. We walked out in that meeting and the coaching staff hoping that the players wanted to make that performance a lie, that we want to do something today that we can all say that look at Saturday and say that’s not real, that’s not really us. And I think today’s performance was a really good performance from everybody.
“Certainly, there are a lot of mistakes. Certainly, there’s a lot of areas to clean up. But it was a great attitude on the court, and a real commitment to one another, playing unselfishly and playing for all the things that we are supposed to play for,” said Baldwin.
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