Blue Eaglets look for consistency as UAAP juniors basketball resumes

MANILA, Philippines – With a 5-2 record at the end of the first round of the ongoing UAAP juniors basketball tournament, defending champions Ateneo Blue Eaglets are hoping to find their consistency and composure.

Following their 78-62 loss to National University in a duel for first place, the Blue Eaglets tumbled to third as the FEU Baby Tamaraws earlier dealt them a defeat with both sporting a 5-2 slate. NU is atop with a 6-1 record with their sole loss coming at the hands of the Adamson Baby Falcons.

The Blue Eaglets lost nine players from their title squad of Season 80. Although they do have reigning Most Valuable Player Kai Sotto, Batang Gilas players Forthsky Padrigao and Geo Chiu, and other holdovers Daniel David, Joaquin Jaymalin and Jed Diaz, the latter four have struggled with their output.

Padrigao was lost to an injury after the very first game of the season, but will be back in harness for their first match of the second round. 

“We went through a lot of growing pains in the first round,” noted first year Ateneo head coach Reggie Varilla, who was the first assistant to former head coach Joe Silva who is now with the UE Red Warriors in the seniors division. “We struggled with our free throw shooting (57 percent) and averaged the most turnovers (25.0 per game). Worst of all, we lost our starting point guard (Padrigao) one game into the season.”

“Personally, I’m not happy with our 5-2 record,” added Varilla. “But with a lot of things that need improvement, I’d say I’m satisfied with the youthful exuberance that this team has shown.”

Pint-sized point guard Ian Espinosa has stepped up in the place of Padrigao and averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals versus 3.1 turnovers. Diaz is the second leading scoring with 7.3 points. In his third season for the blue and white, seven-foot-one Sotto has paced the team with 25. 3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.3 blocks and 2.7 assists.

However, with their manpower losses and current inexperience, Ateneo dropped from being the best offensive and defensive teams of Season 80 into third and fourth in the respective team rankings this Season 81.

“To be honest, losing Padrigao was something we didn’t expect,” admitted Varilla. “Espinosa, our point guard of the future, had to be our point guard of the present. I believe that Padrigao’s injury could be a blessing in disguise as we go deep into the season. We were able to give more experience to Espinosa, Jonas Salandanan, and Andrei Lechoncito that we might have not been able to do had Forthsky been around.”

“For the second round, we want to be more aggressive on both ends of the floor,” hoped Varilla. “We will try to run a bit more and put more pressure defensively. Our bigs will still be the focal point, but I’m expecting our wings to put us over the top.”

Ateneo faces NU once more at 3 p.m.  Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.