UST sticking to zone defense vs Ateneo ‘a big mistake’ – Baldwin

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo Blue Eagles consultant Tab Baldwin felt that the UST Growling Tigers’ use of a zone defense scheme against his team for most of their season-opening game on Sunday, September 4, was a “big mistake” and eventually led to their win at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

“I guess, Sto. Tomas felt they couldn’t play us man to man cause they played zone almost the whole game, which I think is a big mistake at this level,” said the 58-year-old who’s also the head coach of the Philippine men’s national basketball team.

For almost the entirety of the contest, the Growling Tigers were at a 1-2-2 zone defense and it worked for a while. The Blue Eagles missed all 10 of their attempts from downtown in the first two quarters, and entering the final period, Ateneo was ahead only by one, 52-51.

But the Blue Eagles, who finished the game going 6-of-31 from deep, started nailing 3-pointers in the fourth quarter which played a huge role in the team pulling away from UST to open UAAP Season 79 with a 1-0 record.

“I think that played into our hands,” said Baldwin. “Although we only shot 20% from the 3-point line, I think that you’ve got to have a little more courage, to be honest, and trust your team defensively.

(READ: Baldwin not happy with ‘farcical, unnecessary’ drums in UAAP games)

“It’s always going to happen,” the consultant said later on. “We have too many good shooters for a team to zone us as long as they did. Jolo hit a couple and then Anton [Asistio] hit a couple and Adrian [Wong] hit one, and that run right there on the back of those 3-pointers, really was enough to get us to the finish line.”

Asistio’s 3-pointer gave the Blue Eagles a 57-51 lead with 8:57 to go. His second shot from downtown in the quarter came with 6:02 remaining, rewarding Ateneo its first double-digit lead of the contest at 64-53. With 3:44 left, Wong converted a shot from deep, putting his team ahead by 12.

Baldwin, however, also noted his displeasure in some areas of Ateneo’s performance.

“We held them to 30% shooting, but our rebounding was atrocious and if we can’t rebound the ball better than that, we’re going to have a long UAAP [season],” he said.

“We have a lot of things to improve on,” he also explained. “Our rebounding was atrocious. Our defensive positioning was terrible.”

Ateneo was led by the 23 points and 7 rebounds of Aaron Black, the second-generation player and son of former PBA star import Norman Black. In his return to the UAAP, Thirdy Ravena – the brother of former UAAP MVP Kiefer – finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Four other Blue Eagles scored at least 5 points.

“This is a team that will get better and they will mature fast in the guard line-up, but it’s that kind of game that will help them mature,” said Baldwin. “Cause they’re an intelligent bunch, and intelligent guys, all they need to do is experience things once or twice and they start to adjust pretty quickly. So I’m pretty confident that we will mature in terms of our handling of pressure.”

The Blue Eagles are back in action on Sunday, September 11, against the NU Bulldogs. – Rappler.com