Tab Baldwin says UP 'a force to be reckoned with'

It may look like the Ateneo Blue Eagles had it easy in winning their second straight crown, but head coach Tab Baldwin admitted that the UP Fighting Maroons was one tough team to compete with.

"They're a really tough opponent. The scores [may] look imbalanced, but you saw the season, we almost shut down just about every team. We had a hard time shutting these guys down," the former national team coach admitted during their post-game press conference Wednesday.

"They're a force to be reckoned with," Baldwin added.

He also praised the Fighting Maroons for "putting together a great season."

"They were a struggling team early on. I've been with seasons like that and as a coaching staff, it's really difficult. I don't know what they did, but they sure got it together," the two-time UAAP champion coach added.

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"They got these guys playing as a team, playing extremely hard. They've put together a great season."

He likewise credited every single member of the UP team for their historic season.

"There's only one champion but there are only two teams that play the last game. The one that doesn't win must have done a lot of things really well. I think you gotta give credit to every single one of them."

Ateneo on Wednesday bagged their tenth men's basketball title against a Diliman-based squad who capped off their historic season with a runner-up finish. — LA, GMA News