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UAAP: Baldwin says Blue Eagles 'exceeded expectations' in title win

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Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin celebrates with his players after winning the UAAP Season 85 championship. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/12/20/20221219-uaap85-finals-game3-1md_3877-md.jpg"/><figcaption>Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin celebrates with his players after winning the UAAP Season 85 championship. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file</figcaption></figure></div>With four UAAP men’s basketball titles under his belt, Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin knows the tools needed to build a championship team.But the Blue Eagles’ long-time mentor said the current iteration of Blue Eagles had to exceed expectations to win the Season 85 crown.“Every title has its own personality. I’ve got a little bit of flak for saying we were underdogs, we had the DNA of underdogs, that was absolutely true,” Baldwin told ABS-CBN Sports’ IN THE HOUSE.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/21/22/baldwin-ateneo-pay-tribute-to-unheralded-buffaloes">UAAP: Baldwin, Ateneo pay tribute to unheralded &#x27;buffaloes&#x27; that keyed Season 85 title run</a></li></ul>“People, unless they’re with you day after day, they don’t know the character, they don’t see what we needed to do to grow and mature, how far away we are from what we were,” Baldwin said.“Consequently, they don’t see in the light of hindsight, they don’t see how much we did grow and mature. That really is the personality of this particular championship. This is a team that exceeded expectations.”The Blue Eagles eclipsed then-defending champions University of the Philippines, 2-1 in the best-of-three finals which gave the Loyola side its fourth title under Baldwin in just five seasons.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/21/22/uaap-what-inspired-gab-gomez-to-deliver-big-in-game-3">What inspired Ateneo&#x27;s Gomez to deliver big in Game 3</a></li></ul>Not unlike the three-peat run with the likes of Thirdy Ravena and Isaac Go, the former Gilas Pilipinas head coach said that what made this particular title special was how hard the Blue Eagles had to carve a path to the title.“It was a bit patchy in the first round, our performances, we had some big losses, big loss to La Salle, UP, and then obviously after more games under our belt,” recalled the five-time NBL New Zealand champion coach.“But the NU game was really tough. We had to lick our wounds and figure a few things out, who we really are. I think in the long run, that loss was good for us.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/sports/12/20/22/ateneo-kampeon-sa-uaap-mens-basketball">BALIKAN: Pagkapanalo ng Ateneo sa UAAP Men&#x27;s Basketball</a></li></ul>Ateneo held a 5-3 record at one point, trailing both UP and the NU Bulldogs in the team standings, as pundits began counting them out of the championship conversation.The Blue Eagles managed to end the elimination round on a six-game winning run, which included a 75-67 win over the Fighting Maroons in late November—a victory which Baldwin considered as a character-building win as they stood toe-to-toe against the favorites.&quot;It (NU loss) set us up for kind of having the right mentality coming into the UP game in the second round, getting that win was a big boost for our team, for our confidence.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/20/22/ildefonso-comes-full-circle-as-he-wins-title-under-baldwin">UAAP: Ildefonso comes full circle as he wins title under Baldwin&#x27;s guidance</a></li></ul>That same confidence was what Baldwin’s group needed entering the championship series. The tactician added that Ateneo needed maturity and mental fortitude to emerge victorious against their Katipunan neighbors.“They were anxious, nervous. And I thought in the first game, UP had a great start. Second half, we started to play better basketball, and of course, a great Game 2 and that set us up for Game 3 which was always going to be a battle royale,” Baldwin said.“We had a great start in that game and we just held on against a team that was always going to fight until the finish.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/20/22/kouame-set-for-surgery-hopes-to-play-in-europe-upon-recovery">UAAP: Kouame set for surgery, hopes to play in Europe upon recovery</a></li></ul>It wasn’t the easiest route this time around, but the elements Baldwin was referring to, in the end, gave Ateneo its latest UAAP basketball title.“When you play a season as a basketball team, you develop a character, a personality, if you will. You might change your make-up, but the essence stays the same,” he closed.“At the end of the day, you go back to the norm after you play the season. We just had to be ready to beat UP at their best.”<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8mhYwAH6swA?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

With four UAAP men’s basketball titles under his belt, Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin knows the tools needed to build a championship team.