CHICAGO - Another Sunday. Another heartbreak for Ateneo.
After falling to La Salle, 83-78, last October 9, the Blue Eagles dropped a 76-71 overtime cliffhanger two days ago, this time to the battle-tested defending champions from UP.
Despite a modest 3-2 record, which is good only for a share of third place in the overall standings, alarm bells are not ringing and the panic button is idle over at Katipunan.
Snakes rattle, dynasties don't.
"It's a long season," coach Tab Baldwin told me Monday morning.
[READ: Tab Baldwin on Chot, relationship with SBP, best way forward for Gilas]
As disappointing as these twin setbacks were, the Green Archers and the Maroons did not exactly snatch a slice of the Blue Eagles' souls.
Both defeats were tight, very winnable games that could have gone either way with a fickle, favorable bounce here and there.
After admitting that the helter-skelter happy LaSalle crew made his team sloppy, coach Tab noted that the demise against UP was a "hell of a game where we came back from down 6 late and had a chance to win it in regulation."
NAIL-BITER. Tab added that "both teams were really digging deep for solutions and it just fell UP's way."
But a TV analyst who broadcasts UAAP games for a national outfit believes that Ateneo's issues are more complicated than a random coin flip.
"They really miss SJ Belangel. And the Blue Eagles aren't as deep as they were during their glorious three-peat during the 2017 to 2019 campaigns," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Maybe so.
But it is when the chips are low and the doubts are high that the thick Ateneo faithful worship Tab Baldwin even more fiercely.
Because he is a proven winner who has the facility to quickly turn adversity into prosperity. He is also passionately loyal and gives every last ounce to the program season after season.
The belief is that Ateneo has enough pieces to make another title run but the new kids on the block around Ange Kouame just need a little more seasoning and familiarity with one another to flawlessly execute Baldwin's complex system of communal play.
ANOTHER SLIVER OF DAYLIGHT FOR THE RARELY 3-2 ATENEO SQUAD IS FORTHSKY PADRIGAO.
A sophomore trapped in a veteran's body, this 20-year old gunner has been forced to grow up quickly following the departures of Belangel, Gian Mamuyac and Tyler Tio to the professional ranks.
So far Padrigao, who was a star at Ateneo High School, has delivered like UPS. Fearless and impervious to late-game pressures, he has the nerve of a wedding crasher.
The only wrinkle?
Padrigao has yet to figure out exactly when the right moment is to temporarily depart from team play and go bananas with hero ball by taking over games.
But talent always outlives bad habits, so the future is bright for Padrigao, especially under the searing, watchful eyes of Baldwin, a drill sergeant and a locker room therapist.
Still, the road to the championships is paved in peril.
Sitting pretty at 4-1, the Bulldogs at National University have shown more angry bite than just petty, harmless bark.
Also at 4-1, UP is UP, exceptionally well-coached by Goldwin Monteverde, and parading last year's golden core led by the bull-strong Carl Tamayo.
And then there's coach Derrick Pumaren and the Green Archers, whose arsenal is sharpened by Schonny Winston and the long and physically imposing Phillips brothers, Michael and Ben.
But even with these challenging obstacles, hope springs eternal at the esteemed Jesuit school.
And as every basketball-loving Atenista will tell you.
In Tab we trust.
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