Baldwin singles out Eagles' 'heart' in dominant UAAP elims run

MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Blue Eagles have been clinical in their quest for a three-peat title in the UAAP Season 82 men's basketball tournament.

With a 14-0 sweep and winning by an average of 17.4 points per game, it would be easy to think that their basketball is almost robotic in their perfection.

But Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin wants everyone to know that the Blue Eagles have just as much as heart as their eager opponents.

"There’s been a grave misconception about my basketball team," Baldwin said after their Finals berth-clinching win over the UP Fighting Maroons on Wednesday.

"When they talk about us being kind of super-efficient and almost robotic, I don’t think that people understand the amount of heart that it takes to build the basketball team that we have built," he said.

The usually reserved mentor couldn't help but praise his squad for the job they did, even calling them the most hardworking squad he has ever coached.

"This is a team that has a tremendous amount of heart because what determines heart? The sacrifices that these guys have made, this is the hardest practicing team that I’ve ever coached in 40 years," he said.

Baldwin even revealed that the Eagles would be practicing the day after, despite a long layoff while the stepladder semifinals unfolds.

"I’m surrounded by a basketball team that humbles me as a competitor with how much heart they have, with how much passion they have to succeed," he said.

Ateneo will gun for their third straight title in a best-of-three finals series against the winner of the stepladder semifinals among UP, UST and FEU.