Defending champion Ateneo has found its back against the wall as it vies for the last Final Four slot in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament. 

Staring at a record of 5-6 in the standings, the Blue Eagles are holding on for dear life after finding themselves in a two-way tie with the Adamson Soaring Falcons. 

Ateneo ended a three-game slump, its worst in 10 years, with a 67-59 win over UST and finally broke through in the second round. 

However, the win hasn’t completely rescued the Blue Eagles on the verge of elimination. 

“When you’re having the kind of season that we are having, it’s not uncommon for coaches to turn stones over and look underneath and see what we could get,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. 

"I wouldn’t say everybody breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, you know that you are going outside the box a little bit. But at 5-6, if we don’t go outside the box then we are not demonstrating that we have some courage as a coaching staff, that we recognize that some things need to change,” he added. 

This, after rookie Raffy Celis made the most of his extended minutes count, delivering eight points with 11 rebounds for the squad. 

“We got some productivity and there wasn’t too much downside. There were a couple of mistakes, couple of defensive mistakes, but no more so than our other rookies that are getting play time. Jared (Brown) and Mason (Amos) some of these guys,” Baldwin said. 

Baldwin also added that while there have been some changes in the team’s rotation, the team’s mindset has remained pretty much the same throughout the season. 

Ateneo is facing first-round tormentor Adamson on Saturday, Nov. 12, the same team that escaped them in overtime, 74-71, after Vince Magbuhos’ game-winner. 

The emerging winner between the two squads, though, should breathe a temporary sigh of relief in the fourth spot as it inches closer to the last semifinal spot. 

“We lose, we move on to the next one; we win, we move on to the next one. And at the end of the season, you can talk about slumps and streaks and things like that, but we only have right now, the fact that we have to break this game down (against UST), analyze it, and prepare for Adamson. That’s it. That will never, ever change. That is the mindset now and forever. Lock it in cement, it won’t change,” he concluded.