Poor start vs FEU wake up call for Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines—Two versions of Ateneo showed up against Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday.

The Blue Eagles were lifeless in the first half and fell behind by 40-29 against the Tamaraws before coming out of the break like the real champions they are, bringing down the Tamaraws in every way possible.

“The guys became who we believe we are in the second half. Defensively we really locked down, rebounded the ball better, and the players went out with a purpose that we didn’t have in the first half,” said head coach Tab Baldwin.

Ateneo went to outscore FEU 36-15 in the final 20 minutes and tallied more rebounds, 34-17, points off turnovers, 16-0, and points in the paint, 16-4.

The Blue Eagles also became more aggressive going 13-of-21 from the line while FEU was at 3-of-3.

“FEU certainly gave us a wake-up call in the first half that we obviously needed,” said Baldwin. “I don’t care if we had 10 playing dates in a row but when you lose your humility, when you think all you have to do is put your uniform on to be good, you need a wake-up call.”

Ateneo remains unscathed so far with its 71-70 win in the first round over University of Santo Tomas being its closest winning margin, but it has had scary moments and the 47-46 scoreline against the Tamaraws was the first time the Blue Eagles trailed heading into the fourth quarter.

Nevertheless, the Blue Eagles managed to weather the storm and claimed their 11th win in as many games to stay atop while the Tamaraws dropped to 5-6 for the fifth spot.

“It’s better to do some soul searching now after a game than at half time because the time constraints are on you,” said Baldwin. “I got to give our players a lot of credit for coming out in the second half and standing up who they are supposed to be.”