Amid their worst start to a UAAP season in the past 10 years, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin holds on to the process.
Time to worry?
Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin isn’t pressing the panic button just yet, even as the Blue Eagles were sent crashing to their worst start to a UAAP season in 10 years.
Following Sunday’s loss to rival De La Salle, Ateneo is now 0-3 to open UAAP Season 87.
[Related: UAAP: De La Salle rides second-half surge in convincing win over Ateneo]
Heading into the season as heavy underdogs because of their rebuilding phase, Baldwin isn’t pressuring his young players to grow up faster than they can.
Having tremendous experience in player development during his eight years in Ateneo, the decorated head coach said that he knows that what they’re doing will pay off eventually and the results will take care of themselves.
[Related: UAAP: Coach Tab Baldwin refuses to rush Jared Bahay’s growth for Ateneo amid challenging Season 87 start]
“You have to be patient with the process. You invest too much time into something you know will pay dividends and just don't know when it will pay dividends,” Baldwin said.
On his current roster, there are already signs of how the process works for the Blue Eagles as former role player Josh Lazaro has found himself playing a bigger and bigger part in Ateneo’s success.
Meanwhile, other players like Shawn Tuano and Drew Bongo are slowly getting their feet wet as well.
“[Shawn Tuano's] just a good player that's getting better with experience. He should have flashed this last year, and this year his role is more significant and he can score. I'd like to see what he's doing, but we want to see it consistently,” said Baldwin.
“We [also] want to see Josh Lazaro repeat what he did in the last game. We want to see Drew Bongo get going because these guys have offensive capabilities,” he added.
Though not rushing his players to realize their potential, Baldwin is seeking a consistent effort from his young Blue Eagles, especially as defenses have focused around blue chip recruit Jared Bahay.
Despite being in his first year in UAAP senior hoops, Bahay has been known to be the change maker in Ateneo this year.
Having the offense also come from the rest of the Ateneo players will ease Bahay’s burden.
“Until these guys start being consistent, it's going to be tough on Jared because the defenses are going to focus on him because they know his skill set. And until other players get the defensive attention off of Jared to some degree, it's going to cause problems for the entirety of our offense,” said Baldwin.
“But, you know, I have confidence in [Jared]. Josh has had a good game. Tonight, Shawn had a good game. [Kristian] Port[er] showed a little bit in the last game and a little bit tonight. So, step by step, they're finding their way.”
Ateneo’s next chance of finding its way into the win column comes on Saturday, September 21, against the Adamson Soaring Falcons at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles face an Adamson side that has had an optimistic start to the season at 2-1.