Baldwin: We won’t think about Game 2

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin is not the one to look at the past and instead would choose to look at what’s ahead.

After Ateneo’s gut-wrenching 92-83 loss to De La Salle in the second game of the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball finals, Baldwin instilled in his players that what happened Wednesday is already on the wayside.

“We won’t think about Game 2. La Salle didn’t think about Game 1 and they came out and played, we won’t think about Game 2,” said Baldwin at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “It’s winner take all now.”

READ: La Salle rallies to stun Ateneo, forces UAAP title decider 

Ateneo built a massive 21-point lead in the second quarter after Thirdy Ravena made two free throws, 45-24, and was poised to run away to the title.

But La Salle slowly chipped away at the lead and mounted a 40-10 run that spanned the middle quarters to take a 68-59 lead heading into the fourth.

“It was tough because we had a big lead and I’m a coach that hates big leads,” said Baldwin. “That may sound ironic but in today’s world I think young people don’t have a killer instinct. And I see it over and over in basketball leagues around the world.”

READ: Rivero fights off tears to spark La Salle comeback 

“Big leads just seem to drain and momentum swings the other way, and it’s always tough to swing the momentum back. Once La Salle found its feet, we lost ours and we really couldn’t have it back.”

After shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 16-of-33, in the first half, the Blue Eagles hit cold air and bungled to a 12-of-40 shooting clip.

Ateneo’s free throw shooting also dipped in the second half after going 13-of-15 in the first half, the Blue Eagles managed just 7-of-9 in third and fourth quarters.

READ: Mbala back to his old dominant self in Game 2 win

The opposite happened to La Salle as the Green Archers improved their 16-of-38 first half shooting to 16-of-28.

La Salle also doubled its free throws from eight conversions in the first half to 16 in the latter part of the match.

“We have to credit La Salle’s defense, credit also goes to the changes [Aldin] Ayo made,” said Baldwin. “He went big, that didn’t work then he went small and that began to work.”

Ayo employed three big men in the first half with Ben Mbala, Abu Tratter, and Santi Santillan all sharing the floor but the Green Archers switched to a four-guard lineup come the second half.

“His [Ayo] pressure then started to take the toll and the momentum swung. We just didn’t play as well once the momentum swung.”