Celis turns into gem for Blue Eagles in crucial win

MANILA, Philippines -- In a must-win UAAP Season 86 game against the gritty UST Growling Tigers, the Ateneo Blue Eagles found a diamond in the rough.

Rookie Raffy Celis, who did not play in Ateneo’s 65-61 defeat to the NU Bulldogs on Saturday and played just nine seconds against the UP Fighting Maroons on October 29th, had the best game of his life Wednesday against the Tigers.

In the 67-59 victory versus UST, Celis finished with eight points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Nine of his boards were offensive rebounds.

The rookie played 16 minutes and 46 seconds in the game.

Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin said that Celis’ performance “will surely” pave the way to a bigger role as the Final Four race heats up.

“I’m sure [his performance] will [pave the way to a bigger role]. You know, if you’re having the season we’re having, it’s not uncommon for coaches to turn stones over and look underneath and see what we can get,” Baldwin told reporters.

“We've always liked Raffy's energy. It's a big reason why we brought him into the program,” he added.

Baldwin said that he is “happy” that they pulled the trigger with Celis.

“That's a process that you're really never sure when the trigger point is, and so we're happy we pulled the trigger today with Raffy,” he stressed.

“You know that you're going outside the box a little bit. But at 4 and 6, if we don't go outside the box, then we're not demonstrating that we have some courage as a coaching staff and we recognize that some things need to change."

Celis, for his part, said he just did his best in the must-win game.

“I think I gave my best and I'm happy that the coach trusted me,”  the 6-foot 3 wing said.

“I gave my 100% to contribute.”

Ateneo is currently holding a 5-6 win-loss record, just behind the 5-5 Adamson Soaring Falcons.

With three games remaining in the eliminations, the Blue Eagles will be facing Adamson, UE and La Salle.