NINE games in to UAAP Season 86, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin lamented one key deficiency of his current Blue Eagles side that UP was able to exploit in their second round clash on Sunday.
The sheer lack of 'playing chemistry' for a young and rookie-laden team has vividly reflected in their current 4-5 (win-loss) card, the veteran coach rued.
READ: UP Maroons exact sweet revenge on Ateneo Blue Eagles
"That’s the one thing that I think UP did a real good job exploiting today and it’s probably the biggest weakness of our team — that they don’t have a playing chemistry. Playing chemistry isn’t just we like to play together. It’s having a collective understanding where your efficencies are," said Baldwin.
"If anybody knows anything about chemistry, you can’t create a good formula unless you get the right elements working together in the right way. That’s what chemistry in a basketball team needs, and that’s a work in progress for us, he added.
One of his senior leaders in particular, Chris Koon, had a dismal 0-for-10 shooting night in the loss to UP.
But beyond his scoring woes, it was his and the team's poor decision-making at crunch time which also played a big role in Ateneo's fifth loss of the season.
"I think the bigger thing was Chris didn’t really make good decisions. He was really amped to play this game. He was probably over-amped, and it’s something that Chris will learn from no question, quick composure and big games," Baldwin said.
"I think he just forced it a little too much trying to make plays especially when our offense kind of broke down. He’s one of those guys that we go to try and make plays. It wasn’t just him trying to take over. At times he was put in that position by bad possessions and he tries to make a play at the end of the possession, but we gotta be better and he will be better."
Proud of a valiant effort
It may not have been the desired result for the defending champs, but Baldwin was proud to see his young wards go toe to toe yet again with a 'really, really good basketball team' in the Maroons.
"They all learn and we certainly talked about that. But more importantly, we talked about how proud I am of the effort they’ve put out there. They stood toe-to-toe with a really, really good basketball team," Baldwin said.
"And we had a chance. This season has had a lot of that for us. We’ve come out on the short end too many times. You know, how many times can I say growth? It’s what this team is learning."
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