It wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but it’s still one that the ADMU Blue Eagles will definitely take.
After starting out 0-3 in UAAP Season 87–the first time that this has happened since head coach Tab Baldwin took over in 2016–the Blue Eagles, at long last, barged into the win column with a 60-51 triumph over the AdU Soaring Falcons in the “Battle of the Birds.” Ateneo was on the verge of collapse, as their 16-point lead in the third quarter dwindled to a low of three, 54-51, with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, a key defensive stop on Adamson’s rising star Cedrick Manzano with 22 seconds remaining saved the day for Ateneo. The ensuing parade of intentional fouls and their resulting free throws allowed the Blue Eagles to seal their first win of the season after four games.
Shawn Tuano, currently the third-leading scorer in the UAAP, once again led Ateneo with 11 points and four rebounds. Tuano, a 40% free throw shooter through four games this season, made six-of-eight free throws versus the Soaring Falcons, including four-of-six in the last 11 seconds that secured the win.

The 6’3 forward must sustain his improved free throw shooting moving forward if Ateneo is to succeed, given how important his aggressive drives to the basket are to this team’s offense.
Rookie Kristian Porter was another key contributor, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block in a team-high 28 minutes. The 6’5 center is relatively undersized in today’s UAAP, yet he makes up for it with his strength and tenacity. His relentlessness inside the paint was crucial for Ateneo as he went toe-to-toe with Adamson’s taller frontline.
Porter just turned 19 years old last month and if he can still grow taller by a few inches, he could turn out to be a major piece, not just for Ateneo, but for the Gilas Pilipinas national team program as well.
The Blue Eagles’ rough start to the season is hardly indicative of their quality as a team and could even wind up becoming a blessing in disguise for this young team. Two of their first three games were against the preseason championship favorites—the UP Fighting Maroons and the DLSU Green Archers—while their third opponent was a veteran-laden UST Growling Tigers team that came into this season with Final Four aspirations.
These games were likely to have been losses for this young Ateneo team in the first round, regardless of what part of their schedule they happened to be. Now that these challenging games, or “Learning Experiences” as a famous Blue Eagle alumnus likes to say, are out of the way, they can now build momentum heading into the second round of the eliminations.
Ateneo’s next three games to end the first round are against the three other teams that are with them in the bottom half of the standings–the FEU Tamaraws, UE Red Warriors, and NU Bulldogs. These match-ups are highly winnable for the Blue Eagles, especially with the hard-earned experience from their season-opening gauntlet now tucked under their belts. Under Baldwin’s guidance, ADMU is primed to grow, and an upset victory or two against one of the league’s contenders come the second round would be far from surprising.
The winds are finally shifting in the Blue Eagles’ favor, and if things continue to fall into place, this promising young team could find itself back in the thick of the competition sooner rather than later.
