‘Coach’ in the act

R-E-S-P-E-C-T is the name of the game.

Coach Bert Flores, of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, is definitely the man of the hour. As coach of last season’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines basketball champions, he enjoys bragging rights—for another three months at least.

But with most of his veteran players graduating to more lucrative leagues, Flores is faced with the challenge of defending the title with “younger” players.

With De La Salle University (last year’s runnerup) sitting out the season, the field is left open for other equally dangerous teams to step up. Flores, for his part, is keeping his eye on the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the University of the East Red Warriors.

Flores, whose team will sorely miss the services of key players Arwind Santos, Mark Isip and RJ Rizada, admits the tremendous setback for the Tamaraws, especially in the rebounds department (Santos averages eight rebounds, while Isip, four rebounds). Rebounds and an impenetrable defense were among the many reasons the Tamaraws edged out the Archers last year.

However he assures that the new Tamaraw team—which includes shooting guard Jeffrey Chan, Francis Barcellano, RB Mangahas, Benedict Fernandez, Macmac Baracael, and JR de la Cruz—is as competitive and as strong as the previous one. They have competed off-season in invitational events such as the one in Jakarta and have faced-off against China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Flores benefits from his long time handling of his players, who have been under his tutelage since their farm team days. He knows each of their capabilities and is sure to use them to the whole team’s advantage.

More than the players’ individual skills on the court, however, Flores sets great store by their respect for each other, and for himself, which goes beyond the hardcourt and locker rooms. With these to keep him going, Flores is confident that FEU will retain the UAAP men’s basketball crown.

Regaining hardcourt pride
In the case of Dindo Pumaren, coach of the UE Red Warriors, the pressure is doubly hard. For one, he has to win the title for UE, with shooting guard Marcy Arellano in the lead, to regain the hardcourt prestige that the Recto franchise once enjoyed. The Warriors have not won a title in the past 21 years (not since the days of Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera).

The men’s basketball title would be the perfect icing on the cake, as the school is not only hosting the UAAP games this year, it is also celebrating its 60th anniversary.

To this end, Pumaren, who follows in father Pilo’s footsteps in assuming the reins of the Warriors, is hard at work polishing the team’s defense and rotation. He also recruited seasoned players who could cope with his “system” and complement the team’s trademark quickness inside the court.

The team is still basking in the glow of its victory in the Fr. Martin Cup during the off-season. After the last championship, the Warriors “have gotten the habit of winning,” Pumaren notes wryly.

Which goes to show that the Warriors are up for the fight.

The future’s so bright
On the other hand, coach Norman Black, is also seeing a bright future for his Ateneo Blue Eagles this year.

They’ve been practicing hard the past summer months and have played in a total of three leagues including the Fr. Martin Cup and a lot of exhibition games (the Blue Eagles had just finished slugging it out with some Caucasian visitors in the country just before this interview).

In preparation for the upcoming games, Black has been working on the speed and rebounding abilities of his players.

This is a different team from the one that won the championship in 2002. Gone are stellar veterans like Rich Alvarez, Enrico Villanueva, L.A. Tenorio, Gec Chia and Larry Fonacier. Still, Black can count on the services of Doug Kramer, JC Intal and Eric Salamat.

“Our goal this year is at least try to get into the final two,” says the former San Miguel Beer coach, “We’re hoping that we can finish at least the elimination round and the final two to get us the advantage of going into the next round. And hopefully that would make a difference.”

At the end of the day, the fact remains that De La Salle leaves a big black hole in the UAAP universe, which begs the question, does it change anything at all?

>> Diana Uy