TAB Baldwin lauded Forthsky Padrigao for having the guts to take the big shots, but is hoping the sophomore won't let his desire to play the role of the hero impede the flow of Ateneo's attack.
"The kid’s gutsy," Baldwin said after Ateneo''s 76-71 defeat to University of the Philippinesthat put them in joint third at 3-2 in the UAAP basketball tournament.
Padrigao drained the game-tying three that tied the game at 64 with 36.7 seconds left in regulation. He once again nailed a big three in the final 23.4 ticks in overtime to keep Ateneo fighting, 73-71, before charities from Carl Tamayo and Malick Diouf put the game away for UP.
See UP Maroons regain share of lead after dramatic OT win over Ateneo
"He wants to take big shots. He's got the nerve to take big shots."
"He’s not afraid of the moment, but sometimes it becomes at the expense of execution."
"I tried to press upon the players that being very good players in the UAAP level doesn’t make you Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. Those guys, who you put the ball in their hand and get out of the way and the percentage is still pretty good."
"With our guys, we have very good players at the UAAP level but they're not that. We still need to depend on one another, rely on one another, and execute and have the discipline to find the open man. We have a lot of guys who have the nerve to step in to those moment to take shots whether they make it or not and that’s why you play the game."

"I want Forthsky to be the best version of Forthsky, period. That’s developing himself into a guy that runs the team better than he does," says Tab Baldwin.
Baldwin again stressed he wants his players to play within the system.
"I want Forthsky to be the best version of Forthsky, period. That’s developing himself into a guy that runs the team better than he does, the guy that makes sure he gets all of his teammates involved, doesn’t let them mentally slip out better that what he does, that defends better than what he does," he said.
"There’s a lot of improvement for Forthsky to be the best version of himself. If he gets close to that, we’ll not be gonna be talking about any comparisons. He’s a potentially outstanding point guard and he really understands the game, he feels the game. But I think like a lot of Filipino players, a lot of UAAP players that went on to the PBA, they’ve been groomed in their younger years to be the man. And to get them to be the man for others is the task."
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