Questions asked on Jacobs’ ‘dual job’

Some PBA coaches and even team officials are up against Ron Jacobs once again.

Not that they want Jacobs out of the country or out of the PBA, but they're appealing to the Commissioner’s Office to put up guidelines disallowing the American mentor from working for two separate teams in the league.

Thinking San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra enjoy undue advantage over other ballclubs while having one consultant in Jacobs, one team official has vowed to bring up the matter in the coming team managers’ meeting of the league.

"No question, they enjoy an advantage over the others. Kapag nakalaban mo iyung isa, siyempre iyung isa pa alam na kung paano ka lalaruin. Jacobs can make the necessary adjusments in his other game because he saw it for himself in the first game. Hindi lang niya ito na-scout, na-experience niya ito," said one coach.

"Playing against sister teams is not a problem. All the teams should really play their best all the time. Ang problema kung yung isa hindi maglaro ng maganda kung silang dalawa na ang magkalaban," another coach said.

Jacobs started handling both San Miguel and Ginebra last year although he was made to choose by Commissioner Jun Bernardino to sit only on one bench.

He opted to sit on the Ginebra bench this year, probably on orders of the management since his partnership with Jong Uichico at San Miguel had produced three championships.

Still, the former Loyola Marymount coach in the US NCAA continues to hold the rein for both teams, helping coaches Uichico and Allan Caidic map up their battle plans.

During games of the Beermen, he usually sits a few rows behind the San Miguel bench but is often seen giving instructions to the coaching staff.

"If he can act as consultant to two teams, maybe, he can do the same to other teams. We might as well also hire him as our consultant," one team manager said.

The San Miguel team management decided to relegate Jacobs to consultancy job when the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP) questioned his coaching a team in the country despite being a foreigner.

BCAP has nothing against two other foreign PBA coaches, Tim Cone and Norman Black – American citizens like Jacobs – because both are married to Filipinas.