UAAP: Baldwin says Ateneo's deficiencies must be 'fixed immediately' | ABS-CBN

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UAAP: Baldwin says Ateneo's deficiencies must be 'fixed immediately'

UAAP: Baldwin says Ateneo's deficiencies must be 'fixed immediately'

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Oct 10, 2022 11:01 AM PHT

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Ateneo point guard Forthsky Padrigao (15) controls the ball against La Salle in their UAAP Season 85 game. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.
Ateneo point guard Forthsky Padrigao (15) controls the ball against La Salle in their UAAP Season 85 game. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News.


MANILA - Ateneo de Manila University's loss to De La Salle University on Sunday night exposed plenty of "deficiencies" that must be fixed immediately if the Blue Eagles hope to contend for a championship in UAAP Season 85.

This, according to Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin who was admittedly disappointed that his team couldn't pull off the victory against their archrivals.

Ateneo has won seven straight rivalry matches against La Salle and looked set to extend that run after taking a 12-point lead in the first quarter. But they couldn't hold on to their lead, and wound up losing despite a 63-41 rebounding advantage and committing just 15 turnovers against La Salle's press.

"I can't help looking at my own team and understanding our deficiencies in this game, that I think were unnecessary, really. That's probably what is more disheartening than actually losing the game," said Baldwin.

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"When you put up rebounding numbers like I've never seen, I don't think in my life, 36 offensive rebounds, 55%, that's extraordinary. Everybody, after that first half, everybody was rightfully concerned that the La Salle pressure was taking a toll on the team. And then we come out in the second half, we only make six turnovers," he added.

"With those kinds of numbers, we should, I believe, rightfully expect the scoreline to look a lot different."

The loss, said the veteran coach, came down to what he called "self-imposed composure." He gave plenty of credit to the La Salle defense for putting his players under duress; in particular, the Green Archers forced Forthsky Padrigao into an ill-advised triple in their final possession after cutting off his passing angles.

But Baldwin believes that some of the Ateneo errors were self-imposed -- and these are things that must be fixed immediately if they want to live up to expectations as contenders for the UAAP Season 85 crown.

Otherwise, Baldwin feels that those expectations must be adjusted.

"I think that we did things as a basketball team and individually that are going to be extremely detrimental to our capability of vying for a championship," he said. "If we don't fix that, this moment, then we can start looking at Season 86."

Those deficiencies, said Baldwin, must be "fixed immediately" -- as soon as their next practice.

"It's not a process," the coach said shortly.

Asked if it's a challenge that the Blue Eagles have embraced, Baldwin said: "It's their job. They damn well better."

The Blue Eagles were led by reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame, who had 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting along with 12 rebounds and four blocks. Kai Ballungay had his breakout game, with 19 points and 10 boards.

But Dave Ildefonso was held to just seven points on 3-of-14 shooting, while starting point guard Forthsky Padrigao made just two of 18 shots for seven points. Though they scored 28 second chance points, the Blue Eagles couldn't overcome their 9-of-45 shooting from the perimeter.

This is the first time that Ateneo has lost to La Salle since Game 2 of the UAAP Season 80 Finals on November 29, 2017, when a big double-double by Ben Mbala and an inspired performance by Ricci Rivero fueled the Green Archers to a 92-83 win.

Since then, the Blue Eagles dominated the rivalry, sweeping La Salle in Seasons 81, 82, and 84.

Catch replays of UAAP Season 84 games via the UAAP Varsity channel on iWantTFC, available for Premium users outside the Philippines.

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