Big man’s big heart fires up Ateneo

MANILA, Philippines - His story practically embodies the flight of the fledgling Ateneo Blue Eagles this season.

Young and raw, sophomore big man Isaac Go was practically unheralded at the start but with guidance from coaching staff and conditioning team, he worked his butt throughout the summer and the tournament itself to emerge as a steady force in the interior.

Along the way, the Ateneo team has metamorphosed into a legit threat.

Coach Tab Baldwin was all praises for Go, who even got love from AdMU fans after bucking a bloodied nose to score the winning basket in the Final Four KO against Far Eastern.

“It’s really an interesting story. When I joined the organization, I looked around and asked about our big men. Everyone pointed to G-boy Babilonia and Chibueze Ikeh and I said what about the big fat kid over there (Go)? They said he can do some things but he didn’t really have much experience. As soon as I saw him play, I said this kid had something,” Baldwin recalled.

The AdMU coach had a heart-to-heart talk with Go, told him to get rid of rice in his diet and lose weight.

“So we started working on his body, then on his mind because the skill set, intelligence and confidence are already there. And again, just like this team, he’s just an evolving commodity and I think we’re gonna see pretty special things from the kid over the next few years,” said Baldwin.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though, he’s gonna be on a war for next week but he’s shown everything that I liked in basketball player,” he added.

That war pits him with the MVP and double-double specialist Ben Mbala, Abu Tratter and the rest of DLSU’s vaunted frontline.

“They’re a great team but just like what coach Tab said, we have just have to prepare for them,” said Go.