Baldwin: Ateneo shot ‘way too many’ threes in loss to FEU

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo went trigger-happy against defending champion Far Eastern University on Saturday in the UAAP Season 79 men’s basketball Final Four tournament, shooting 36 attempts from beyond-the-arc and making only six.

Unfortunately for the Blue Eagles only six went in and that conversion was far too bad for consultant Tab Baldwin’s liking. 

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, and every zone is tough when you don’t shoot the ball well,” said Baldwin after the Blue Eagles lost to the Tamaraws, 62-61, at Mall of Asia Arena. “We ended up taking 36 threes in the game, that’s way too many and that’s exactly what they wanted to force us to do and that number went in their favor tonight.”

FEU head coach Nash Racela employed 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones the majority of the game and even though the Tamaraws failed to make a single triple off their 12 attempts, they’ve out-rebounded the Blue Eagles, 50-40.

Ateneo had a single made triple in the first half, courtesy of Anton Asistio, and Baldwin told his players to shoot with more confidence come the final two quarters.

What happened, though, was the Blue Eagles went one-dimensional and attempted as many triples as possible.

“At halftime, we talked about shooting the ball with confidence and being ready to shoot the ball,” said Baldwin, whose team tries to bounce back on Wednesday and arrange a Finals duel with No. 1 La Salle. “The second half we shot a little bit better but still too many threes.”