ATENEO coach Tab Baldwin probably would be the last guy to to show satisfaction on how his players are performing.
But the American-Kiwi mentor wouldn’t deny improvements, especially from Shawn Tuano and Andrew Bongo who have played exceptionally well for the Blue Eagles this UAAP Season 87.
“I see growth, I see evolution, I see development, and that pleases our entire coaching staff. But compared to where we want to go, we're just scratching the surface,” he said.
READ: Amid Ateneo's surprise run, Baldwin keeps eyes on true purpose
Truly, there is no sophomore slump for the two Fil-Am talents.
Tuano, 19, has come out of nowhere to lead Ateneo in scoring with his 10.67 points on 49-percent shooting from the field, to go with 2.67 rebounds.
Bongo, 21, is just as effective, collecting 7.2 points on 31-percent shooting from deep, alongside 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in this campaign.
And their stellar performances have been a big reason why the Blue Eagles are in the midst of a second round resurgence, winning their last two games including a huge 67-64 road victory over University of Santo Tomas on Saturday.
“I feel like we can continue this especially with the way were playing right now. We’re playing together, so we want to keep it going,” said Tuano.
Bongo agreed, noting: It’s a good feeling. We’re not coming into this season as one of the top contenders. We had a slow start in the season, but we just want to continue to keep building and building and continue to trust the process. We believe in ourselves and we’re getting the Ws.”
Even before the season, the two anticipated a tough campaign for Ateneo, first from the departures that it had to deal with and next, with the seeming inexperience that the Katipunan side will have from its bevy of first and second-year players.
That’s why they already took it upon themselves to up their game starting in the offseason.
“I just kept on believing in the work that I put in. When my shots don’t go in, I got to make sure that I’m a lot more impactful in getting the wins,” said Bongo, a 6-4 swingman from Charter Oak High School.
Tuano, a 6-3 forward out of Villanova Preparatory School, also attributed team captain Sean Quitevis for helping him better adapt this year.
“Sean Quitevis puts a lot of confidence in me to work hard starting from the offseason. I really owe a lot to him, taught me the work ethic to succeed in this league and show me that not everything is going to be easy,” he said. “Everything I got to work for and even when I got it, I still got to work even more.”
No one knows how long this Blue Eagle win streak will last, but for the sophomores, they just want to continue to do the right things much to the liking of Baldwin.
“We want to keep the mindset of continuing to do our job and focus on that. That’s our priority and whatever outside noises are there, we’ll just keep working on us,” said Bongo.
Tuano was more direct when it comes to Ateneo’s Final Four hopes: “All we need is a chance.”
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