TAB Baldwin’s future with Ateneo, as of this moment, is set until 2025.
Beyond the end of the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament, however, it’s no longer in his hands.
READ: Tab Baldwin says no talks with New Zealand on Tall Blacks job
While the four-time UAAP champion coach denied receiving offers from the New Zealand Tall Blacks, one thing he did confirm is that, as always, it’ll be up to Blue Eagles' management to decide if they'll still deem him the right man for the job.
“(My future) is up to Ateneo. That's up to boss MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan). Maybe it's up to how we do this year,” said Baldwin, as they enter Season 87 as self-proclaimed 'prohibitive underdogs'.
READ: A chance is all the Blue Eagles need
Nonetheless, the brilliant American-Kiwi tactician believes it'll be a competitive campaign for Ateneo despite a seismic offseason exodus bannered by Mason Amos, Kai Ballungay, Jared Brown, Geo Chiu, Gab Gomez, Jason Credo, and Raffy Celis.
“I think we’re gonna be competitive. Beyond that, results are something that sometimes do happen positively, sometimes they don’t. But I think the important thing is that this team has shown in the offseason that they’ve grown a lot," he said.
“It’s a very young team, but I really believe that they’re going to be competitive."
Only as good as your last game
But will the promise of what could be a season of surprises brighten up or dim Baldwin’s future in Katipunan?
Only time will tell.
“People talk about our underdog status, yeah, probably. We’re probably underdogs in terms of being champions. Day in, day out, game in, game out, this is gonna be a team that battles for wins," he said.
“They’re gonna win games, but we’ll see how many and how far they’ll go.”
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