Baldwin wants Eagles to grow

Ateneo de Manila University finally catches fire and waged a two-game winning run in Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

But Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin is hardly celebrating.

The seasoned Kiwi-American coach said winning matches is not their main agenda as he wants his players to grow and develop into a solid team capable of winning multiple titles.

After ending the first round at the bottom of team standings with an ugly 1-6 win-loss record, the Blue Eagles won their back-to-back games over National University, 70-68, and University of Santo Tomas (UST), 67-64.

With that, the Blue Eagles climbed to fifth place with a 3-6 record behind De La Salle University (9-1), University of the Philippines (7-1), University of the East (5-3) and UST (4-6).

Baldwin said he wasn’t satisfied with their win over the Growling Tigers.

“But, you know, what did it take to win that game? It took 17 offensive rebounds. It took holding Nic Cabañero, holding him to 18 points, but on 31 percent shooting,” Baldwin said following their match against the Growling Tigers over the weekend.

“And we still missed a ton of easy shots under the basket, and still only shot 58 percent from the free throw line.”

“Sometimes when you're your own worst enemy, not taking advantage of the opportunities that you create, you've got to gut it out. They're guys that play every possession with their heart.”

But the run to a Final Four spot is not yet over.

The Blue Eagles still have five more games in the elimination and sweeping them would give them a chance to avert the disaster in 2013 in which they finished with a 7-7 record that prevented them from advancing to the semifinals.

Baldwin said they will keep on working on their shots and staying positive.

“The last thing I want to say is another big factor in that game is, you know, this has been a team, for all of its lacking this year, this is a team that is very stingy with the ball. We don't turn it over. We put the ball on the rim, and we give ourselves a chance,” Baldwin said.

“Although we haven't shot the ball great this year, the eight turnovers is kind of in line with the way we've played all season. We are giving ourselves a chance and if the shots ever start falling, if we start making the easy ones and we start making free throws, we're not going to be a team that's averaging 60 to 65 points.”

“These are things that our coaching staff is aware of and our players need to be aware of. And if we want to continue to put results on the board, we've got to be more efficient in putting the ball in the basket.”