The Blue Eagles, led by their one-and-done trio of Kymani Ladi, Dom Escobar, and Jayden Lazo, outlasted the Tamaraws, 86-83, in the September 20 season opener — a win that sparked the Katipunan-based squad’s impressive four-game streak.
After fending off archrival De La Salle, 81-74, in their October 5 showdown, Ateneo suffered three consecutive losses — to University of the Philippines (69-83), University of Santo Tomas (89-98, 3OT), and National University (66-71, OT). The skid dropped coach Tab Baldwin’s side to fifth place, tied with UP and La Salle at 4-3.
NU topped the first round with a 6-1 record, followed by UST at 5-2.
Despite the late stumble, Baldwin remains optimistic that Ateneo can regain its form starting with its 2:00 PM duel against FEU. He acknowledged the need to make crucial adjustments as the tournament enters its decisive stretch.
“I think we’ve become a better rebounding team than we were early in the season, and that was a concern. But the numbers are starting to look good, and the activity on the boards is starting to look a lot better, and for me that’s a huge positive,” Baldwin said.
“When that’s a negative, I think we’re in trouble. I think our defense has been good throughout, and it will need to continue to be good. I think our shooting has left something to be desired, and we just spoke about that,” he added.
“So, players have got to do the work and they’ve got to shoot the ball confidently, and they’ve got to generate good shots consistently, but our field goal percentage is a problem for us. With the quality of shots we’re getting, I don’t think it should be. So, a lot of extra work has got to go in our shooting, but we’re leading the league in fewest turnovers, we’re doing a good job at the defensive end, our rebounding has gotten better. I think we’re in pretty good shape for the second round, especially if we can get healthy,” he added.
At 2-5, the Tamaraws may be two games out of the coveted No. 4 spot, but coach Sean Chambers remains confident his team can show improvement and correct their first-round lapses.
“I expect us to continue to get better. Our bench is starting to peak this season, Kirby [Mongcopa] is starting to get comfortable during the UAAP season. I fear no one,” said Chambers.
He went on, “I put it on our board that we play for FEU, we play for our teammates and for our family, but most importantly, we play for God first. And we want to be examples of hard work, determination, what it will look like if you do things the right way. I expect that we’ll get better moving forward.”
In the second game at 4:30 PM, NU seeks to avenge its lone first-round loss to UP. The Fighting Maroons used a massive 22-2 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to stun the Bulldogs, 66-59, last October 4.
NU coach Jeff Napa said that learning from those late-game lapses will be key as every contest grows in importance. The Bulldogs showed composure last Saturday when they overcame Ateneo in overtime despite blowing an 18-point lead.
“Ang importante lang ngayon ay how the players will recover doon sa adversities na ‘yan ‘eh. Despite nga na nakabalik yung Ateneo, yung composure and kagustuhan ma-shift yung momentum nandoon ‘eh,” Napa said.
“Hindi ko na para sabihan pa sila ng X’s and O’s or whatsoever, may tinatawag lang ako para magising sila. I am happy for them and for their decision and sana nga na heading into the second round, mas lakasan pa namin yung approach namin.”
Back-to-back title-seeking UP, meanwhile, has no time to sulk after its 69-72 defeat to De La Salle in their Finals rematch last Sunday. With a quick turnaround, coach Goldwin Monteverde wants the Fighting Maroons to refocus on the Bulldogs and get back on track toward their season goals.
“I think okay naman. Parang kung nasaan kami before, maganda naman na progression nila, but siyempre we have to be better and improve pa. Kasi alam namin na kung nasaan kami ngayon, kulang pa, pero tatrabahuin pa namin,” Monteverde said.
“Ang goal ko naman for every season is to be on the top sana, but kung nasaan ‘man kami right now, we just have to deal with it to be better come the second round.”
It’s a busy four-game schedule in the women’s division beginning at 8:00 AM with NU facing UE, followed by Adamson University vs. De La Salle, and UST vs. UP at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ateneo and FEU battle in the lone women’s game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 4:00 PM.
The Tigresses are eyeing a seven-game sweep of the first round against a UP squad that has dropped four straight after a 2-0 start.
“When I’m looking at the stats ngayon, we’re a bit slower to the usual games that we have. Usually, we have 80 to 90 attempts, ngayon mas mababa, maybe because of the fatigue na rin,” said UST coach Haydee Ong.
“Nung previous seasons, yung third quarter yung Achilles heel namin, ngayon naman sa third quarter nagki-kick in yung mga bata. But hopefully it will be a consistent play the whole game na first to fourth quarter talaga, yung effort namin nandoon.”
La Salle coach Cholo Villanueva, meanwhile, feels pleased with how the Lady Archers have bounced back from a 0-2 start. They are just one game behind the Lady Tamaraws (3-3) for the No. 4 spot entering today’s match against the Lady Falcons.
The Lady Archers are tied with UP and Adamson at 2-4.
“This is a confidence booster for our team in winning two straight [games]. It was a total team effort din because almost everyone scored and almost everyone created,” Villanueva said.
“We’re thinking about our next game in Adamson — they have very good guards and they have a very solid team. They look to be a Final Four contender din, so we’ll see what kind of defensive schemes we’ll look to run against that team.”
Second-round action in the 16-and-under division also kicks off today at the Big Dome. NU-Nazareth School aims for its eighth straight win against UP Integrated School at 10 a.m., following the FEU-Diliman vs. Ateneo clash at 8:00 AM.
Defending champion UE faces Adamson at 12 noon, while UST meets De La Salle-Zobel at 2:00 PM.
