UAAP: when the tough get going, they get to the top
When Ateneo notched its second straight victory in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, coach Tab Baldwin was more relieved than anything.
“I’m really happy we’re getting wins in tough situations,” he said after a 62-60 victory over University of the East last week.
The Eagles share the lead with National U, both with 3-0 (win-loss) cards heading into this weekend’s set of matches. Baldwin’s charges got to the top by playing extremely well in the clutch. And while the Bulldogs raced to two straight victories via routs, their third win, against a rolling University of Santo Tomas, came off a strong finish.
And how teams perform in the clutch might be crucial going into the weekend—and moving forward in the season.
Strong finish
Unbeaten Ateneo and NU lead the plus-minus in clutch play (games within five points at any point in the last two minutes).
The Eagles are scoring 8.5 points per game in clutch situations, fueled by that strong finish against Far Eastern U, where they battled from six points down using a 12-3 run. And they’re giving up just four points a game in that same stretch, for a +4.5.
In their lone thriller so far, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers, 8-2 in the stretch for a +6.
La Salle, tied for third with host UST, has gotten through some nervy situations in the endgame, too.
“We had a part in the game where we’re playing really, really well but in the UAAP you cannot say that you’re gonna have an easy win,” said Archers assistant coach Caloy Garcia after a testy 74-72 victory over FEU. “We just have to figure out our struggles in the fourth quarter.”
Maybe not all of the fourth. La Salle has scored 4.5 points per game in the clutch while holding its opponents to 2.5.
So far, there have been five games this season with margins of five or less. And if you throw in Ateneo’s six-point deficit entering the two-minute mark against FEU, six games were separated by just two possessions in the last two minutes.
More importantly, all teams have been in clutch situations already, this early in the season—with half of them playing in two such games.
FEU has given up 8.0 points per game in the clutch so far this season (it is averaging 3.0 points scored in that same stretch for a -5) , while UE surrendered five in the lone tight game it has played. Both teams are two of the three lowest in that department. Not surprisingly, they are also winless so far.
The only team that has bucked the clutch trend so far is UST, which gave up eight points against NU but is at 2-1 in the standings owing to two big wins to start the season.
