FROM an eight-point lead to a 16-point blowout, Ateneo’s sorry loss to National U brought the team to a new low under head coach Tab Baldwin.
This fifth straight defeat became the worst losing streak in Baldwin’s nine-season tenure with the Blue Eagles, a far cry from their 4-0 start.
READ: NU repeats over Ateneo to tighten grip on top spot
With their skid ranging from narrow losses to straight blowouts like this one, Baldwin was crystal clear on the shortcomings they kept committing.
Kymani Ladi struggled late game, with his 12 points needing 14 shots to reach. Jared Bahay, meanwhile, couldn’t buy a bucket with limited time and wound up with two points and two assists.
In all, Ateneo shot an abysmal 26.7-percent, as the Bulldogs to let loose a 20-point fourth quarter to remain atop the leaderboard.
Blue Eagle brothers need to band together
Before their skid, Ateneo was hailed as an early finals contender with numerous offensive options like Ladi, Bahay, Dom Escobar, and Shawn Tuano, who can all turn it on whenever needed.
All of a sudden, however, the blue-and-white has seemed to have forgotten it's actually spoiled for choice
“We lost our cohesion, and people started trying to, you know, solve the problem themselves and we became a little bit individual,” said Baldwin.
With their insistence on ‘hero-ball’ proving to be ineffective, the four-time champion coach called for them to get back to basics.
As he put it, “I think the team has got to find a way to retain their discipline when things aren't going well. And, you know, every team experiences that in virtually every game.”
“You go through patches where shots don't fall or the other team hits some tough shots and they get a bit of a run on, and I think it's more a question of our discipline and staying locked into the game plan and making the adjustments necessary.“
Now the Blue Eagles have sunk to sixth, there isn’t much room for error, especially with the playoff picture as tight as it has ever been.
“There's a lot of pressure on this team right now, and I think that they're responding a little bit to the pressure and trying to solve problems individually, and, you know, we just have to stay locked in as a team and do a better job of that,” their brilliant tactician reminded.
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