TAB Baldwin joined an illustrious club on Saturday after Ateneo's nail-biting 86-83 overtime victory over Far Eastern University to open the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament.
The American-Kiwi mentor became only the fourth coach to reach 100 wins in the UAAP Final Four era, joining equally legendary mentors Franz Pumaren, Aric del Rosario, and Norman Black.
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Baldwin amassed an impressive 100-37 win-loss record, a whopping 72.9-percent winning rate laced with four championships in his nine years at the helm in Katipunan.
Since starting in UAAP Season 79 in 2016, the stern mentor led the Blue Eagles to an 85-28 record in the eliminations and 15-9 in the playoffs.
Pumaren sits at the top of the list with his 137-64 card, a 68.2-percent rate across his 15 seasons with La Salle and Adamson.
Winners of five titles in his time at Taft, the now-Quezon City Third District representative still makes the list even if the Green Archers' three seasons from 2003 to 2005 will be forfeited as that will put him at 107-44, a solid 70.9-percent winning rate.
The late Del Rosario also garnered a 113-65 record, a 63.4-percent rate, in his 11 seasons for UST starting in UAAP Season 56 in 1993 when the Espana crew completed a 14-0 sweep and started what would be the historic four-peat.
During his tenure, the Growling Tigers went 98-54 in the preliminaries and 15-11 in the postseason before he departed the lair in 2003.
Black fastest to 100
Black, meanwhile, was the fastest to get to the century mark, going 110-26 in his eight seasons at Ateneo starting in UAAP Season 68 in 2005.
He steered the Blue Eagles to a 90-20 elimination record and 20-6 in the playoffs in his time there for a whopping 80.9-percent winning rate, capping off his tenure with a five-peat before leaving in 2013.
The century mark is a testament to Baldwin's pedigree and longevity in a time where coaches get swapped like hot potato.
Among the current UAAP coaches, Nash Racela, Pido Jarencio, and Goldwin Monteverde have the best chances to join that club soon.
Racela, now in his fifth season for Adamson, holds a 75-57 win-loss record (56.8-percent) including his first four years in Far Eastern University where he won the UAAP Season 78 crown in 2015.
Jarencio, in his second tour of duty for UST, has a 70-74 slate (48.6-percent) in his 10 seasons for the Growling Tigers, including his UAAP Season 69 trophy back in 2006.
Monteverde, already a two-time UAAP champion in five years with University of the Philippines, currently has a 56-18 win-loss slate (75.7-percent) dating back to UAAP Season 84 in 2022 when he started in Diliman.
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