Believe it or not, losing his Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) job as Mobiline coach has turned out to be a blessing for Eric Altamirano.
He wouldn't have found the time to take care of his wife Marissa, who's on her third pregnancy, otherwise. He wouldn't have found the time to attend to his two kids--Anton, 9, and Luigi, 6 -- and bring them to Boracay the other week. And he wouldn't have found the time to undergo a battery of medical tests that checked out his heart condition.
Marissa is three months on the way and she's experiencing a difficult pregnancy. "I'm so thankful that Eric is around to give me all his support," she said. Mother and father are hoping for a girl but if it's a third boy, they'll be just as happy.
"I never had this much time to be with our kids," said Eric at home yesterday. "I could never give them my full attention when I was coaching. I'm making up for it now. Like when we went to Boracay recently, I had nothing on my mind except Marissa and the kids."
A few days after he was fired, Eric collapsed early morning at home. He'd never passed out before. Eric, 33, was rushed to the hospital where doctors administered a series of tests. His heartbeat rate a minute dropped to 32 when the normal is 60 to 100. An ultra-sound was taken of his heart--to Marissa's relief, it showed nothing to worry about.
"It was probably stress-related," said Eric who played in the PBA from 1989 to 1994. "Although I wasn't surprised by the decision to fire me, it was still a traumatic experience. My normal heartbeat rate is 62--that's because athletes usually have a big heart and slower heartbeat rates. Imagine, my rate fell to 48 then in a halter test, it went down further to 32. Doctors advised me to exercise to normalize my heartbeat."
Basketball, however, isn't completely out of Eric's routine. When he's not home or out with his family, Eric's in the gym, kibitzing at the University of the Philippines varsity practices. He's helping out new Maroons coach Ryan Gregorio who used to be one of his assistants at Mobiline.
Eric also plans to conduct basketball clinics for kids in Olongapo - a city which is close to his heart because of his friendship with the Gordons. So he definitely won't be idle.
Eric got the news of his termination at 4:30 a.m., the morning after Mobiline lost a 91-76 decision to Alaska last March 31. Team manager Debbie Tan phoned Eric at home to deliver the news he expected.
Two days before, Eric had a long meeting with team owner Manny Pangilinan.
"We talked and Mr. Pangilinan shared his frustrations," related Eric. "He asked me why we weren't winning. I explained that winning will take time. Bong (Ravena) just joined us and Gherome (Ejercito) was coming off an injury. Adjustments were being made with so many new players. (Asi) Taulava's case was still up in the air. I told Mr. Pangilinan the team would continue to struggle in the next few games but that I was confident it would potentially become better - that all we needed was more time. I also told him that if management is uncomfortable with me and wants to make a change, I can understand. Mr. Pangilinan said he would do whatever is necessary and advise me of his decision in a few days."
Eric said before the season started, he spoke to Debbie and Mobiline executive Ignatius Yenko on the team's future. "Management wanted to revamp the team and change at least six players," he continued. "I told Debbie and Mr. Yenko that if management wanted to change me, it would be better to do it before the season instead of at midstream. I was only thinking of the new players who would join because of me."
Eric then had a feeling his days were numbered.
"First of all, I was hired by the previous owners - I was just a carryover," he said. "Iba 'yung vision ng previous owners sa present owners. The previous owners thought long-term. The present owners want to win right away. We had recruited players for the long-term, like Bryan Gahol and Andy Seigle. Then we had to make major lineup changes."
Two years remained in Eric's contract when he was fired. He's been assured that the rest of his contract will be paid off.
Is Eric in line to coach Barangay Ginebra next conference?
Find out the real score and more in tomorrow's column.