In his first two UAAP games, Kymani Ladi proved why he is touted as one of the most exciting players in Season 88 men’s basketball after producing clutch baskets that fueled Ateneo’s 2-0 drive to start the tournament.

Ladi, who only has a one-and-done deal with the Blue Eagles, is an offensive threat all the other teams are well aware of and are surely plotting ways to stop the versatile 6-foot-8 forward.

Veteran coach Tab Baldwin is expecting it and he is looking for adjustments in Ladi’s style of play, especially in their coming games.

“I actually told Kymani starting tonight that I thought the defense would be a little bit more focused on him and I wanted to see a crooked number in the assist column and you see, we don't see that,” said Baldwin.

“So I think more and more going forward, Ky’s going to have to make adjustments. He's going to attract the best defenders and is going to attract defensive schemes,” he added.

Just like in their 86-83 win over Far Eastern University, the 25-year-old Ladi took charge anew in the waning seconds and sank a booming triple to help Ateneo essay a 62-60 victory against University of the East.

There, Ladi tallied his first double-double output of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Aside from him and Jared Bahay delivering timely baskets in the pressure moments, Baldwin wants his other wards to answer the call when their names are called.

“Other guys have got to step up in order to continue to get him some freedom of movement and some space, so the better the rest of our roster plays, the better Kai is going to play,” Baldwin continued.

“But if he is at any point seen to be a real focal point of our offense, then the going will get tough for him and it will get tough for us as well,” he added.

Despite his heroics, Ladi believed that Ateneo could have avoided being in that situation if not for its defensive lapses.

Ladi also stressed his discontent with his performance and vowed to continue his efforts to improve his game to further aid Ateneo back on top of UAAP basketball.

“I'm not necessarily content with my performances. I can never really be too content [and] I just want to make sure that our team is progressive with each game,” said Ladi.

“I think there's some instances where we are, you'll see it in some cases where we're really solid on defense. There's also times that we're not,” he concluded. “But that's the joy of basketball.You keep working on it.”

Next challenge for the Blue Eagles (2-0) are the Adamson Soaring Falcons this Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.