Nobody can offer the exact reasons why the once mighty Ateneo Blue Eagles ended the first round of the UAAP Season 87 Basketball Tournament at the tail-end of the standings.
They have only one win in seven games to show and that’s very unusual to a team that had won 9 titles the past 16 seasons, including five in a row starting in 2008.
Even the team’s top financial supporters are reportedly not happy with its current form specially losing to teams it had dominated for years that included University of East, Far Eastern University, and only last Saturday to National University.
Their 78-68 defeat to the Bulldogs was more painful as they appeared to have lost the trademarks of their past triumphs – grit, resilience and discipline.
They made a good run early in the fourth as Andrew Bongo, Kyle Gamber, and Shawn Tuano connived in a 12-5 blast to inch within five, 63-58, with 6:16 to go.
But that was the best that they could do as they allowed the Bulldogs to retaliate and finish them off.
With Ateneo languishing at the bottom at the moment, coach Tab Baldwin and his wards need to do something special in the second round if still wish to turn their fortunes around.
