By NIKOLE JAVIER
Tab Baldwin is leaving his future in the hands of the Ateneo management and his boss Manny V. Pangilinan following reports of New Zealand return.
The American-Kiwi mentor is seeing his contract through the end of the UAAP Season 87 where the Blue Eagles are deemed to be underdogs following an up-and-down campaign last year.
Just a day prior to the preseason press conference of the upcoming season on Wednesday, Sept. 4, the 66-year-old mentor was reportedly eyed by Basketball New Zealand for a possible return to his post with the Tall Blacks.
However, Baldwin was quick to deny the rumor saying his future is pretty much still up in the air and there are factors it depends on.
“(My future) is up to Ateneo. That’s up to boss MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan). Maybe it’s up to how we do this year,” said Baldwin.
Though Ateneo managed to maintain its Final Four streak for the ninth straight season, the Katipunan-based squad wound up with a disappointing 7-7 record before falling to eventual champion De La Salle in their epic semifinal showdown to end their campaign.
With things to consider, Baldwin is not stressing about what lies ahead beyond the season.
Following the exodus of Ateneo talents at the conclusion of Season 86 that saw Kai Ballungay, Jared Brown, Geo Chiu, Gab Gomez, Raffy Celis, Jason Credo and most recently and controversially Mason Amos all leaving to pursue different paths, Baldwin believes that the team he has efficiently put together this season will be competitive to fight and win games.
“I think we’re gonna be competitive. Beyond that, results are something that sometimes do happen positively, sometimes they don’t. But I think the important thing is that this team has shown in the offseason that they’ve grown a lot,” he said.
Despite welcoming the new season with an underdog status, Baldwin’s brilliance doesn’t end just like that on one bad campaign as there remains more of him to be seen.
“People talk about our underdog status, yeah, probably. We’re probably underdogs in terms of being champions. Day in, day out, game in, game out, this is gonna be a team that battles for wins,” he said.
“It’s a very young team, but I really believe that they’re going to be competitive. They’re gonna win games, but we’ll see how many and how far they’ll go.”
