JUST two months into his stint with National University, Kean Baclaan is eager to prove his silencers wrong after bolting University of Santo Tomas.
His eagerness got the best of himself, going 3-of-9 from the field in a 10-point performance during the Bulldogs' 77-70 win over University of the East to start their UAAP Season 85 men's basketball campaign on Sunday.
"Sa sobrang daming sinasabi ng mga tao, syempre sa akin, gusto ko lang magpakita kung ano yung laro ko," said Baclaan.
"Akin po kasi, nasa adjustment [period] pa talaga ako sa NU. Wala pa akong two months [dito]. Siguro kailangan ko i-adjust yung depensa ko pa," he added.
NU head coach Jeff Napa also noticed that his ward looked overeager.
"Still adjusting pa sa tinatakbo namin. Baka may gigil factor din, gustong magpakita. Daming kasing naririnig yung pangalan niya, so may gigil factor. Buti na lang tapos na yung first game, at least mare-relax na yung bata," explained head coach Jeff Napa after the game.
"Yun naman yung ia-address namin na nagre-relax kasi di kami pwedeng mag-relax talaga, especially ngayon yung teams totally balanced, lahat parehas. Nakita niyo naman yung UE, masyadong nag-iba yung itsura, so hindi pwedeng hindi respetuhin," he added.
A relaxed team in the first half, where they stood tall with a 15-point lead, the team floundered after halftime and even shortly trailed by a point.
Ultimately, the Bulldogs were able to wrest control in the closing stretch after former Juniors MVP Jake Figueroa made some big shots and send UE spiraling to their 15th straight loss.
Napa is adamant the team learn from their opening day mistakes as they face powerhouse Ateneo on Wednesday.
"It’s a good win for us pero still, marami pa kaming kailangang trabahuin. Bukas, back to the drawing board," assured Napa.
"We will review kung ano yung mga lapses namin. Especially coming Wednesday, mabigat yung kalaban namin. Kailangan, di kami pwedeng tulog dun. We have to be ready on our game on Wednesday."
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