American coaches of the Ateneo Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines – What is it between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and their American coaches?

In 96 years of Ateneo basketball, the school has had eight American head coaches and they have accounted for 14 of the 26 titles won by the school in the top tier leagues.

The first Ateneo coach was Fr. John Hurley S.J. followed by Fr. James Martin S.J., Fr. Matthew Kane S.J., Fr. Joseph Geib S.J., then Fr. Denis Lynch S.J., all whom were from the Society of Jesus who ran the school after the Americans took over from their Spanish counterparts. 

Most of the American Jesuits assigned to the Philippines were products of New York and Philadelphia schools with strong basketball backgrounds.

After Fr. Lynch, it would take 25 years before another American coached the school, and that was Al Dunbar, a former teammate of Boston Celtics greats Bill Russell and KC Jones at the University of San Francisco, and who led Ateneo to the 1961 NCAA championship. 

Forty years after Dunbar stepped down in 1965 to return to the United States, Norman Augustus Black was named the school’s 35th head coach in 2005.

Then Tab Baldwin was tasked to lead the Blue Eagles in 2016.

Fr. Martin was the head coach of the first Ateneo champions in the NCAA during the 1928-29 season, the league’s fifth season.

During the three-peat from 1931-34, Fathers Kane, Geib and Lynch all tasted victory — each one guiding the school to a title every year. 

Only Fr. Hurley was unable to lead the blue and white to a collegiate title. 

Dunbar (USF) and Black (St. Joseph’s University) are products of a Jesuit education while Baldwin went to a Catholic college in Notre Dame.

For the purposes of this article, we will look at the records of the two recent American coaches in Norman Black (the 35th head coach in Ateneo basketball history) and Tab Baldwin (the 37th head coach).

Norman Black (79-23 in eight seasons with a 77% winning percentage)

Honors: 16 championships. Including five UAAP titles in six championship appearances.

Philippine Collegiate Champions League 2007 2009 2010

Nike Summer League 2008

Filoil Premier Cup 2011

University Games 2008 2009 2011

UAAP 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Fr. Martin Cup 2009 2010 2012

Tab Baldwin (73-11 in six seasons with an 87% winning percentage)

Honors: 10 championships including four UAAP titles in six championship appearances.

UAAP Season 2017 2018 2019 2022

Champions League 2017

Filoil Premier Cup 2018

Breakdown Basketball Invitationals 2018

City Hoops 2018

D-League 2019

World University Basketball Series 2022

It should also be noted that Ateneo has played fewer off-season tournaments under Baldwin as they have opted for overseas training and organizing their own tune-up matches.

And Baldwin isn’t done.