MANILA - Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin commended his players on Saturday not just for their victory against National University, but also for their sustained effort amid a brutal schedule in UAAP Season 84.

The Blue Eagles kept their perfect slate intact with an 89-75 win against the Bulldogs, a game that saw them lead by as much as 33 points before holding off a fourth quarter firestorm by National U. It was their 37th straight win since 2018, and they are now assured of a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final 4.

Baldwin called it a "really good win" for his team, even though they were out-scored 26-11 in the fourth quarter by the Bulldogs.

"It's a really good win. We played an exceptionally tough team, as I'm sure everybody saw in the second half," said the coach.

"But I think our quality of play in the first half was as high a standard as maybe I've ever seen from an Ateneo team," Baldwin added. "At both ends of the floor, I thought the boys did an exceptional job."

• GAME RECAP: Ateneo cruises past NU to stay unbeaten

The Blue Eagles put on a clinic in the first half, where they seized a 61-36 lead. They shot 62.2% from the field, including 50% from long range. They also limited NU to just 45% shooting and forced them into eight turnovers that they translated to 14 points.

Their shooting cooled off in the second half, which Baldwin credited not just to NU's defense but also to some exhaustion on the part of his players.

"Of course, nobody likes it when we don't continue to play at that high a standard. But, I don't think we can take anything away from these guys," he said "I just have to say that this schedule is brutal. It is really, really brutal."

"I think it's really unfair to everybody because it's just very difficult for the players and the coaching staff to maintain a high standard of performance," he added.

All UAAP teams play three games each week, with just a day's break between Tuesday and Thursday games. The packed schedule over the course of more than two months is something that even the well-traveled Baldwin has yet to experience.

"I've never experienced anything like it, over such an extended period of time in my entire career," he said. "I've played in tournaments, played nine games in nine days or nine games in 11 days at the World Cup."

"Never had anything like this. This is really tough. So we're going, you know, almost three months without any days off," he noted.

The coach thus gave full credit to his players -- and other UAAP teams as well -- for pushing through despite what has been an exhausting stretch of basketball for all involved.

"Talking to all the teams, everybody is exhausted," Baldwin said. "Looking at our basketball team and our season, I marvel, really at how our players are continuing to push themselves under these circumstances."

"I don't really know how the players are doing it. My heart goes out to them, honestly," he also said. "I was thinking about that last night. 'Cause I was thinking about how tired I was, and I can only imagine how tired the players are."

Teams are in the midst of a two-day break before returning to action on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.