The Ateneo Blue Eagles. Photo from UAAP Media.

MANILA — Ateneo de Manila University is, mathematically, not yet out of the UAAP Season 87 Final Four picture.

The Blue Eagles are currently at the seventh spot with a 3-8 record, and they still have three games on their schedule, with these coming against Adamson University, Far Eastern University, and the University of the East.

However, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin understands that their fate, in the season that he described as a challenging one for the proud institution, is not in their hands. 

READ: What’s next for Ateneo, Coach Tab after their worst loss in Baldwin era?

"We still gotta finish the season strong," said the UAAP champion coach, who absorbed his biggest defeat in the league following a 70-45 beatdown from the University of the Philippines last Wednesday.

"I mean, we could go win all three of these games and still not make the playoffs. At this point, results have to go our way for us to even have a chance. And it's not likely that that's gonna happen, but we have to put that out of our mind."

"We have to go play three positive basketball games. We have to do everything we can to win those games," he continued.

It has been, indeed, a year that has been full of hardships for the former league powerhouse. 

After dealing with the exit of the likes of Kai Ballungay, Geo Chiu, and other players who still have years of eligibility to play and stay in Loyola Heights, Ateneo started the year with a 1-6 record — their worst start under Baldwin.

They showed some signs of life, winning two straight games and improving their record to 3-6 — just within the Final Four race at No.5 — but just when Ateneo thought things were finally going its way, the Eagles plummeted once again.

Supposed to play against Adamson, Ateneo suddenly had to face the defending champions — its lifelong rivals De La Salle University because of the postponement of games due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine — and it saw themselves again losing two straight contests, versus DLSU and UP. 

"The program, we knew at the beginning of the season, was gonna be challenged this year because of the personnel issues that we had," acknowledged Baldwin. 

"From our expected import leaving and going to the States, to all the guys that opted out to go pro, it left us with a very inexperienced lineup. We knew there were going to be challenges. We didn't know how that would play out. You obviously hope for the best, that maybe, these guys will step up and be a miracle team that is a bunch of young guns, then go out and perform phenomenally well — that didn't happen."

"That doesn't mean that there isn't talent there, and that some are not gonna be key players in the future, but every day now is a test of their character, a test of their resolve to bring this program back to where it belongs."

For Coach Tab, their three remaining games, aside from giving them a slim chance to enter the playoffs, are must-wins not only for present, but due to the implications that it may have for their program for years to come.

Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. Photo from UAAP Images.

"We need to have our players understand that their future in the program is, in part, being measured by how they stand up to these three games," he pointed out.

"With no guarantees about what we're going to achieve in regard to this year, they still have to fight every day in practice, in every game, to bring as much honor and as much pride to that uniform as they are expected to."

Baldwin also said that this is not only for the players. How they perform in their last three outings may also affect him and his coaching staff as well. 

"The coaches have to do their job too," he emphasized. "We're all under the gun. We all have to feel like there's a knife at our throat, and the only way to take that pressure off is to be successful in everything that we do."

"We have three games coming up that we wanna make a positive impression on the season with these last three games. We wanna make a positive impression for our players going forward," he added.

The Blue Eagles will face FEU on November 9, UE on November 13, and Adamson on a yet-to-be-determined date.