NU’s Baclaan downplays hot shooting vs Adamson

MANILA, Philippines – Despite shooting the lights out in the second half of their UAAP Season 86 game against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, NU Bulldog Kean Baclaan is keeping his head down.

Baclaan, who went scoreless in the first half, unleashed 15 big points in the third quarter alone off of five 3-pointers, to erase a 14-point lead by Adamson.

The Bulldogs ran away with a 69-66 win Saturday afternoon at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.

After the game, the 5-foot-8 guard said he was just “proving his worth” for the team.

The guard said he was not focused on scoring and just did what he had to.
“I just proved my worth to the team. I just showed what I can prove to the team, and I just did what I have to, to help the team,” the spitfire guard told reporters in Filipino.

“I do not mind the scoring. It just came. And, it is just the first time it happened that I had five straight three pointers,” he added.

Baclaan’s hot shooting turned a 41-30 deficit to a 55-54 lead for NU.
He finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

It was a bit of a homecoming for Baclaan, who was initially recruited by UST and jumped ship to NU a few months after.

“When I was warming up [before the game,] I was asking the bouncers why the lights were low. Because, when I was practicing here [at the Quadricentennial Pavilion before,] the lights were high,” he said.

“Maybe, what happened was really a blessing. Now, we have to move on.”

Baclaan also underscored the need to trust the system of Coach Jeff Napa as they go into the second round.