UAAP: Ateneo earns Tab Baldwin praise with unselfish ball in win over UST

Ateneo’s Geo Chiu and Dave Ildefonso during the Blue Eagles’ game vs UST. –UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin was pleased to see the Blue Eagles playing unselfish basketball to bounce back from a tough loss to La Salle in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament.

Following a frustrating 83-78 defeat to La Salle last Sunday, Baldwin lauded how his wards made up for their shortcomings as Ateneo made 27 assists in venting its ire on University of Santo Tomas.

“I think 27 assists on 27 made field goals makes a pretty big statement. That’s exactly what we were missing in the last game. We were missing that eye for one another,” said the Kiwi-American coach after their 79-52 rout of UST on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

“One of the Atenean principles is to be a man for others. We weave that into the culture that we try to develop. We expect that of these young men as not just Blue Eagle basketball players but as Ateneans. I think that’s an extremely serious concept, in a world that demonstrates far too much selfishness. I think it’s the right thing to do, to expect it of these players,” he added.

Baldwin wants the Blue Eagles to sustain their unselfish basketball and continue to work as one unit for the rest of the season, where they seek to regain the title.

“And when they respond, as they did today, I think that needs to be acknowledged. It needs to be applauded, and they need to understand that while the world might be out there looking for superstars, your best friends are looking for somebody to have their back. And I think we would all rather have a great best friend than fame,” he said. “That’s what I want of our team, and I think that we can, we’ve taken steps from the last game, and in this game, I think we took some steps towards that. I’m proud of them.”

‘EYE OF THE HURRICANE’

The Ateneo coach also praised the effort of Geo Chiu, who stood his ground against the physicality of UST and finished with five points, nine rebounds, and a block in 17 minutes of play, as naturalized center Ange Kouame only played for 15 minutes with seven points, eight boards, and two blocks.

“I thought Geo Chiu played a really good game for us. He went in and he was sort of the eye of the hurricane, in a way, because a lot of the physicality kind of revolved around him. He really stood his ground,” Baldwin said. “He’s gonna be a very, very good basketball player for Ateneo, for whoever he chooses to play for in the pros, and I believe, ultimately, in the national team. So these are great learning curves for him.”

Baldwin was glad to see how the Blue Eagles took his challenge to heart after he called them out to fix their deficiencies immediately when they lost to the Green Archers for the first time in five years.

“As I said after the last game, I said this is not a process. This is a decision that people had to make, and I think that they took strides. It’s not a decision that ends after one game, either. But I think that they did, collectively, make a decision that they were going to play in a different manner, regardless of the outcome,” he said.

The three-time UAAP champion coach said his players “need to reaffirm that decision every day in practice and games” as they battle the defending champion University of the Philippines on Sunday.