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UAAP: Isaac Go, champion Ateneo will see if busy offseason pays dividends

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Karl Cedrick Basco, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/tvpatrol/09/04/20180906-isaac-go.jpg"/></figure></div>A year after completing a UAAP title run, the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles feel no pressure defending their position in the forthcoming Season 81, acknowledged Isaac Go. In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Go revealed head coach Tab Baldwin reminded them that what happened in the previous season does not guarantee them a repeat this year. “We haven’t accomplish anything now. It is our own story right now. It’s our own journey,” Go said. “Battles to win, battles to lose. Lessons to learn.”The big man of the Blue Eagles, who played solidly in the last season’s finals, also bared they will rather write a new story in Season 81 than look back and boast their previous achievement.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/03/18/uaap-one-game-at-a-time-says-ateneo-coach-baldwin">READ: UAAP: One game at a time, says Ateneo coach Baldwin</a></li></ul>Go, on the other hand, told ABS-CBN News that the team prepared for eight months, including training camps overseas and competing internationally, for the annual collegiate battle. “We spent maybe 4 or 5 months working on ourselves then working the next 2 or 3 months working on the team. We feel that is enough preparation to help us get better for the UAAP season especially we had trips abroad. We had tune-up games,” Go said. The Katipunan-based cagers represented the Philippines in the 2018 Jones Cup in Taiwan last July where the team finished fourth out of the nine competing teams. The team also went to Greece for tune-up games in June. According to Go, Jones Cup participation came on as a surprise for the team, as they learned about it only two weeks before the tournament. “We were all caught off-guard. It was a mix of excitement and a little bit of fear because we were unsure of the level of the competition we will gonna face, knowing that the Jones Cup really changes year to year,” Go revealed. He also said the system they used in the Jones Cup was not mature enough for the level of competition given that they were, then, in the process of preparing for the UAAP. Meanwhile, the team had some games against clubs and even the national team of Greece last June which Go said a great opportunity for the Blue Eagles, considering that they do not get the chance to organized friendly matches with some of the professional teams in the Philippines. “Getting the chance to play with them, we get to experience and learn from what they know. They teach us. We saw how much we have to improve on,” Go added. Go also refused to name a single team which he thinks the biggest roadblock for their back-to-back title quest but wary about a fightback from last year’s semifinalist Far Eastern University and rival De La Salle University.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/16/18/uaap-ateneo-to-begin-title-defense-vs-adamson-ayo-ust-debut-vs-nu">READ: UAAP: Ateneo to begin title defense vs Adamson; Ayo, UST debut vs NU</a></li></ul>The Ateneo Blue Eagles will open their Season 81 campaign against the Adamson University Falcons on September 9, Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. <div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

The Blue Eagles big man says the team has put its past success in the rearview and will bring a fresh mentality into the new season.

The Blue Eagles big man says the team has put its past success in the rearview and will bring a fresh mentality into the new season.

UAAP: Isaac Go, champion Ateneo will see if busy offseason pays dividends

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UAAP: Isaac Go, champion Ateneo will see if busy offseason pays dividends

Karl Cedrick Basco,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 06, 2018 08:10 PM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

UAAP Season 81

basketball

Ateneo

Blue Eagles

Isaac Go

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