ATENEO coach Tab Baldwin is still keeping a positive outlook even if the Blue Eagles became the first team to get the boot this UAAP Season 87.
After University of Santo Tomas’ 76-67 victory over University of the East on Wednesday, Ateneo is no longer in contention for the Final Four as its 3-9 card won’t be enough to catch the bus.
READ: UST drags down UE, kicks Ateneo out of playoff race
Still, the decorated mentor exuded confidence in the potential of his Katipunan crew bannered by bluechip rookies Jared Bahay and Kristian Porter.
“The measure of a program, the measure of a person, the measure of a team is what you do when you get knocked down. And, you know, we're knocked down as a program. And I have every confidence that we will respond and we will learn from the situation that we're in and we will use it as motivation to grow in the future,” he said.
Indeed, it was an unfamiliar and trying campaign for the Blue Eagles which had to fasttrack the growth of their youthful group following the unexpected departures and graduations – a far cry from the dynastic years when the likes of Thirdy Ravena, Ange Kouame, Isaac Go, and twins Matt and Mike Nieto led the blue-and-white to the UAAP pinnacle.
“We're in a very difficult position which we put ourselves in throughout the season and it didn't just happen today. Very disappointed dugout in there and a lot of guys that have been successful basketball players coming into our program, and nobody envisaged the Ateneo Blue Eagles being where we're at right now but that's the reality and I guess the cliches are true,” Baldwin said after their team’s 65-54 defeat to Far Eastern University.
“We know we have a lot of young talent. But we just don't have the horses this year to battle against guys like Mo Konateh and we do everything we can and that's just the way it goes.”
He furthered: “When you're in a position where you've got to use tactics to try and find balance and equity in a game, tactics either work or they don't. And the players just have to go out and do the best they can with the tactics they're given. And we were not able to make tactics productive for us.”
Though eliminated, Baldwin knows that the job still isn’t over for this team as the development for the future still continues.
“What we are looking for in the future is the development of all these young players, getting some pieces in the future around them that are going to be players that allow us to compete at a higher level on the front line, and building the program back into something that the Ateneo community is used to having. That's the job,” he said.
And with eyes placed on Ateneo’s next two games against University of the East and Adamson, there’s really one thing that Baldwin demands from his wards: to show that the potential they possess is something the Blue Eagles can manufacture into results moving forward.
“Right now, we have two games that we have to step up to and we have to be the best version of ourselves that we are capable of being. And if we don't come to work tomorrow prepared to do that, then you know that says something about us individually that I don't think we want people to think about us,” he stated.
“I think we want people to think that no matter the circumstances, no matter how dim the light on the horizon is, we're going to show up, we're going to fight, and we're going to prepare, and we're going to give the best that we can for our team, for the effort that we've put in this year, for our community, and for all the people that support us. That's really the only acceptable solution. So I'm much more focused on the short term right now than the long term.”
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