ATENEO, TULOY ANG TRAINING ABROAD BAGO ANG UAAP ’82

MATUTULOY na rin ang mga naudlot na biyahe at training abroad ng Ateneo de Manila men’s basketball team.

Dahil tapos na ang 2019 PBA D-League kung saan sila ang nagkampeon sa pamamagitan ng 3-1 panalo sa finals series kontra Centro Escolar University, makakapag-focus na ang Ateneo de Manila University sa nakatakda nilang “title retention bid” sa darating na UAAP Season 82 Men’s Basketball Tournament. “We’re leaving next week and we’ll have a training camp in Greece. That’ll be pretty brutal to be honest,” ayon kay Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin matapos magwagi ng Cignal-Ateneo sa kanilang unang D-League crown noong Martes ng gabi sa Ynares Sports Arena sa Pasig City. “Then we’ll go to Singapore and play against the Singapore national team before heading down to Australia. We have a few games in Perth and also in Melbourne,” dagdag nito.

Ito ang ikalawang taong sunod na magsasanay sila sa Greece para sa Ateneo kasunod ng ginawa nilang training doon noong 2018 na nagbunga ng back-to-back UAAP title.

Pero maliban doon, para kay Baldwin ay gusto niyang makita ang mas pinaigting pa na bonding o samahan ng players. “It’s a great experience, I think, for the boys to understand the difficulties that long tours represent. They got to be away from home and get to bond together as a team.”

“That’s where we learn to help each other through everything that we face. And you know, that’s a lot when you go on tour.”

Gagawin ding basehan ng coaching staff ang nasabing biyahe at training abroad upang alamin kung sino ang ipapalit nila sa mga nabakanteng posisyon ng mga nagsipagtapos nang sina Anton Asistio at Aaron Black gayundin ang dalawa pang puwestong posibleng mabakante nina Raffy Verano at Jolo Mendoza dahil sa academic deficiencies. (VA)