UAAP: Tab Baldwin far from satisfied after Ateneo win over UP

Ateneo Coach Tab Baldwin during a game against UP in the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Basketball Tournament. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — After picking up their biggest win of the season so far at the expense of defending champions University of the Philippines on Saturday, Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin believes the Blue Eagles still have plenty of progress to be made with the Final Four just around the corner.

“There are aspects of today’s game that we want to see replicated in the playoffs, but there are other things I believe we need to improve on,” Baldwin said after guiding his team to a 75-67 victory against the Fighting Maroons at the Coliseum of Araneta.

“The effort, the intensity, it shows on the boards. We got our asses kicked in the boards today, so that can’t happen,” he added.

UP won the rebound battle against Ateneo, 43-41, with the Fighting Maroons also having 23 second-chance points to the Eagles’ 12.

Carl Tamayo led UP in that department with 10 to go with his game-high 20 points.

Among the positives, on the other hand, that Baldwin would like to see more of his wards come playoff time was their bold second-half play that put the Blue Eagles in control of the game.

“Our second half, tenacity-wise, was good. From an execution-wise, however, we need to improve,” Baldwin said.

Dave Ildefonso anchored Ateneo’s second-half turnaround, scoring all of his 15 points in the final two quarters.

Another bright spot for Ateneo was guard Gab Gomez’s steady play, which intensified in the fourth quarter when senior point guard Forthsky Padrigao got cramped.

“Our mentality is that everyone should always be ready. If you get called, you have to be ready,” said Gomez, who played quality minutes finishing with five points and three assists.

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