Uichico takes leave of absence for RP five

Coach Jong Uichico is set to file a leave of absence from San Miguel Beer so he could concentrate on the bigger task that lies ahead – help the national team win the gold in next year’s Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea.

Uichico, who failed to steer his team past Sta. Lucia Realty in the PBA Governors Cup that ended last Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, said his leave of absence already has the blessings of SMB management. The leave of absence will take effect until after the Asian Games in September.

Uichico said his assistants – Art dela Cruz and Siot Tanquincen – will call the shots for the team in the first two conferences of next year while he is helping Ron Jacobs run the national team hoping to win the Asian Games gold.

"Maybe I’ll be back before the third conference of next year starts. I’ve informed my assistants with San Miguel about my leave but I have yet to talk to them about the organization of the team," said Uichico, who was designated recently by Jacobs as his chief assistant in the national team.

Uichico made the announcement shortly after the Norman Black-coached Sta. Lucia posted a thrilling 75-72 victory over San Miguel and wrapped up the best-of-seven series, 4-2, for its first-ever title since joining the league in 1993.

Uichico offered no excuses for the loss, saying: "I just told the team that as much as we badly wanted to win the championship, we didn’t have a bad year. We won the All-Filipino and we were in the finals of the two other conferences. Entering the finals three times this year is very hard to do."

Uichico also took his hat off to Black, the SMB head coach from 1986 until 1996.

"Norman has done a great job at Sta. Lucia because he’s the only one who got the team to the championship. I was under him for a long time so I learned a lot from him. So, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I prepared the team the best I can, I coached the team

the best I can and the

players did everything the best they can. But we lost to a better team and that’s the bottomline," he said.