Narvasa back in limelight

For six years, Chito Narvasa was a fixture in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), cutting a sharp figure on the sidelines first as a Purefoods assistant coach then as head coach of Shell and finally, the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs.

He was known for his fiery courtside manners and of course, his sartorial elegance. Narvasa had a flair about him — from the way he motivated his players in crucial timeouts to the way he carried his clothes, the bright-colored tie on an equally bright-colored shirt and the trademark high-waisted pleated pants.

It wasn’t just Narvasa’s fashionable good looks that caught the fancy of fans. As a coach, Narvasa was brilliant, too.

For two years, he was Chot Reyes’ assistant at Purefoods. Narvasa savored the sweet taste of two titles with the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs in 1993 and 1994. Then, he moved to the hot seat, taking over the Shell coaching chores in 1995. He came closest to a PBA crown in the 1996 Commissioner’s Cup where Shell lost to Alaska in seven games. Narvasa called the shots for Shell until he yielded the reins to assistant Perry Ronquillo after a dismal 1-6 start in the 1998 All-Filipino Cup. But his leave was short-lived. Narvasa bounced back into the spotlight as Purefoods’ coach in the Second and Third Conferences that year.

It was fitting that Narvasa ended his coaching career where it started – like it went full circle. He called his return to Purefoods "a happy homecoming."

Since leaving the PBA at the end of the 1998 season, Narvasa has kept busy in his other love – investment banking. He organized the AYN Resource Management Group whose areas of expertise include bond flotation, loan syndication, corporate rehabilitation, financial planning, tax consultancy and IPO activities. AYN stand for Narvasa’s initials – Andres Y. Narvasa.

With a lean workforce of four professionals, AYN is heavily engaged in raising funds for municipalities in Mindanao through bonds. Narvasa, who worked abroad for several years before coming home to establish his own financial consultancy firm, explains that the key to fueling development in Third World economies lies in the flotation of bonds. He regularly visits provinces in Mindanao – at least several days a month – to confer with officers of Local Government Units which are the beneficiaries of his fund-raising projects.

Although he is neck-deep in banking work, Narvasa never let go of his basketball involvement. He remains president of the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP). Narvasa acknowledges that basketball has opened a lot of doors for him – in the provinces, he is still called "coach" by rural folk who remember his years in the PBA.

It was during his provincial meetings that Narvasa realized he could contribute to grassroots sports development, too. Before long, Narvasa set up the AYN Sports Management Group to focus on sports-related projects and recruited Nike 3-on-3 organizer and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) consultant Tanny Gonzalez as director for project management.

"The Sports Management Group is dedicated to the promotion and management of sports," says Narvasa. "We represent athletes, manage sporting events and soon, we will be opening the doors to our sports institute. The quality of professional service you will get from our group is without equal. We have the people, the credibility, resources and contacts to get you where you want to be."

Narvasa’s group was recently contracted by the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) to manage the league’s 33rd season. The deal is for three years.

The WNCAA is composed of 15 private schools from the National Capital Region and 23 private schools from the provinces. It is made up of female athletes from the grade school, high school, and college levels with ages from 9 to 21 years old. Over 3,000 students participate in the WNCAA’s calendar of events which are basketball, volleyball, swimming, athletics, badminton, tennis, taekwondo, table tennis, chess, wall climbing, futsal, billiards, and cheerleading.

The WNCAA inaugurates its 33rd season on Aug. 3 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig and ends in February.

"Our aim is to develop the WNCAA into the premier amateur women’s league in the Philippines," says Narvasa who is presently enticing sponsors with a package of media values to back up the league.

Narvasa says he plans to conduct WNCAA regional meets with the national finals to be held in Metro Manila and to arrange for the participation of champion schools in international competitions.

The WNCAA schools in the National Capital Region are Angelicum, Assumption, Chiang Kai Shek, Colegio de San Lorenzo, St. Benilde, La Salle Zobel, Emilio Aguinaldo, Lyceum, Miriam, Rizal Technological University, Sienna, St. Benedict’s College, St. Scholastica’s College, St. Stephen’s High School, and the University of Assumption.

Narvasa says his group has also acquired the contracts to manage such events as Batang Pinoy and the Asean Beach Volleyball tournament.

A former Ateneo basketball varsity star, Narvasa is back where he belongs – in the thick of sports action.