Ateneo de Manila University head coach Tab Baldwin wants to see the Blue Eagles play better as they go along with the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 men’s basketball tournament.
While the Kiwi-American mentor liked the progress his wards made after barging into the win column at the expense of archrival De La Salle University following an opening day setback, he admitted that he was far from satisfied with the defending champions.
“This was a gutsy win, wasn’t a great basketball win,” Baldwin said after Ateneo’s 77-72 win Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Blue Eagles saw Kai Ballungay and Mason Amos put up highlight-reel clutch plays in the back-and-forth closing stretch of the fourth quarter, picking up from the impressive shooting display by Chris Koon, to beat the clingy Green Archers.
The victory put Ateneo in a four-way tie with a 1-1 win-loss record beside its victim, Adamson University and University of the East.
‘This was a gutsy win, wasn’t a great basketball win.’
Still, the outspoken mentor would want to see the Blue Eagles improve their level of play.
“I want to play better basketball. You could ask me that question 365 days a year, you’d get the same answer. I want to play good basketball,” Baldwin said.
“People say, would you be satisfied with losing? If we played good basketball, probably,” he said. “So I’m not overly satisfied when we don’t play good basketball and win, but I’m really happy with the gutsy performance.”
Ateneo had to climb out of a nine-point hole in the payoff period and engaged La Salle in a late game shootout before pulling through in another epic match between the two rivals.
“If these were two boxers when the bell on the 15th round rang, they came out to fight. You couldn’t get a more worthy opponent. That’s what makes the rivalry great,” Baldwin said.
“What makes this game great is that we fought really hard today, and it was just kind of even because of how tough La Salle is, and how proud their team and their program and their coaching staff are.”
Ateneo looks to build a winning run when it takes on Adamson Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
