ATENEO BOMBS OLD COACH
Our coaching staff — or should I say, my assistant coaches — know coach Jamike pretty well
ANTIPOLO CITY — Ranged against a familiar foe, the vaunted strength and firepower of Ateneo de Manila University were in full display as it crushed National University, 71-50, in Season 82 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center here.
With Angelo Koume and Gian Mamuyac at the helm, the Blue Eagles unleashed a strong start and an even stronger finish to roll to their fifth straight win entering the final two matches of the first round.
Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas stepped back on the winning track following a come-from-behind 82-74 win over Far Eastern University in the second game.
Sherwin Conception knocked down four three-pointers in the third period that allowed the Growling Tigers to crawl back into the game.
Concepcion had all of his 12 points in the third period while Beninese big man Soulemane Chabi Yo spearheaded the attack with 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Tigers, who claimed the solo third spot with a 4-2 win-loss card.
Koume, the power-playing Ivorian center, delivered 15 points and 13 rebounds while Mamuyac registered 13 markers and three boards for Ateneo, which face a hungry Bulldogs squad led by long-time Blue Eaglets mentor Jamike Jarin.
“We’re so happy to get that win under our belts,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin, adding that their deep familiarity to the coaching style of Jarin played a key role in this victory.
Jarin coached the Eaglets for 13 years with 12 finals appearances and eight UAAP titles.
His success in the juniors served as his ticket to land a job at San Beda University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association before accepting the same role at NU. He also coached Batang Gilas in the FIBA World U17 Men’s Championship in Dubai in 2014.
“Our coaching staff — or should I say, my assistant coaches — know coach Jamike pretty well so they kept warning me that he’s going to come out with something different, something unusual.”
True enough, Jarin ran plays that looked so familiar to Baldwin, a Kiwi-American mentor who led New Zealand to semifinals of the FIBA basketball World Cup in 2002 before coaching
Gilas Pilipinas to numerous international battles.
“In the first half, they played, I guess, a spoiling type defense, a mutation of zone and man defense. We call it ‘junk defense’ in coaching parlance,” said Baldwin, whose wards buckled to work early, closing the first half with a 17-point, 41-24, despite a dismal shooting.
“It was somewhat effective. Our field goal percentage doesn’t flatter our players. It is something we need to continue working on. We wanted to generate offense through pressure defense and we don’t like when the game slows down too much.”
Our defense is doing a good job.