Back to the drawing board for Baldwin, Eagles after 2nd UAAP 86 loss

MANILA, Philippines – After losing their second game in three contests in UAAP Season 86 hoops action, the Ateneo Blue Eagles will have to figure out a lot of things, head coach Tab Baldwin said.

The Blue Eagles succumbed to the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday, 74-71, thanks to a buzzer-beater by Vince Magbuhos.

Ateneo led by as much as 19 points in the first half, but Adamson rallied back to win.

Baldwin lauded Adamson’s tough, in-your-face defense, which led Ateneo to commit 24 turnovers.

“They got physical, they got tough. More than just adversarial, they were really in our face. They were really challenging, physically. And it shook us up,” he said.

“[The number of turnovers] is something that you have to be pretty good in the other categories to survive that. And we weren’t. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, we didn’t get good shot selection, you saw a lot of possessions wind down on the shot clock, our offensive organization was rattled by Adamson’s pressure,” he added.

Baldwin underscored the need of the team to have composure even if they are leading in double-digits.

“So we better figure some things out about how important it is to be composed, mentally and physically tough, as we were against La Salle,” the coach said.

Ateneo won over the Green Archers in a game of runs on Wednesday.

Baldwin also stressed that the team should find their character and culture.

“I think, right now, we haven’t established [our culture.] We have so many new players, and it is not that they are reluctant… but there’s an actual process you have to go through, a mental process and say that it is what I want, what I want to be in the context of a team,” the multi-time champion coach said.

“I think teams have game-to-game identities and that’s legitimate but you have to have a culture. Right now, we’re still trying to create that, embed that and then cement that. And that process does not happen very quickly and for as many new players as we have, it is a difficult process,” he added.

So far, the Katipunan-based cagers lost against the NU Bulldogs and Adamson.