Taming the Tigers

For more than a decade, Aric del Rosario has been at the helm of every victory and defeat of the UST Growling Tigers, including a 4-peat championship and a record 14-0 sweep. Unfortunately, however, "some good things never last." And so the 62-year old coach is now faced with the dilemma everyone else faces at one point in their lives — "should he stay or should he go?"

He has seen it all. Through years of coaching, he has mastered the skill of spotting talent, and the ability to deal with young and sometimes immature players. "Mga players noon, madaling turuan kasi sumusunod pa. Medyo may katigasan ng ulo ang mga players ngayon," he observed; although this is not the reason why he’s seriously considering retirement after this coming 2003 UAAP season.

He revealed that right after achieving the four consecutive championships a few years back, he already wanted to take a bow. Understandably, he wanted to end his coaching career in the UAAP on a high note. But UST management was able to convince him to stay. It seemed easy at the start. "Now hinahanapan na ako ng championship. Marami nang intriga. Ngayon naiinip naman kayo, gusto niyo mag-champion," lamented del Rosario, also assistant coach for Talk n’ Text in the PBA.

He admitted that negative criticisms and intrigues weigh him down. Last year, talks of him being replaced after the UAAP season disgusted him so much that he stopped showing up for the regular training of the team. "I studied in UST, played for the team, learned to coach, and started my coaching career," he explained albeit love for his alma matter failed to give him enough strength to hold on. The only thing that made him reconsider after almost two months of hiatus was his concern for the players. "They looked lost. Parang nakaka-awa kaya bumalik ako nitong January."

Coach del Rosario boasts of his relationship with his players. Players run to him for problems not only concerning basketball. They seem to be in control of the ball in the hardcourt but outside, they are like ordinary individuals who crumble in times of tribulations. He says he encounters a lot of players with troubles in the family. "Pag mahirap ang tao, maraming nagiging problema," he rationalized, adding that most of his players are not as well off as the ballers from the other schools. Some of his players even leave the house and go to practice without eating breakfast. Some can hardly concentrate on the game because of problems with feuding parents.

Like a father, he never fails to remind his players, "Kung hindi kayo mag-excel sa basketball, dapat huwag pabayaan ang pag-aaral. Either way, makakatulong kayo sa pamilya niyo." He went on to say that one of the most rewarding things in coaching for him, more than the championships, is when he is able to develop a player who eventually makes it big in professional basketball. Rey Evangelista, Dennis Espino, Richard Yee, Cris Cantonjos and Edmund Reyes are the former Tigers he is most proud of. They capitalized on their ball prowess to improve theirs and their families’ living condition.

Talking about these big men put coach del Rosario on a nostalgic mode. He knows how important big men are in the game of ball. After all, the adage "Height is might" was not coined for nothing. From his own experience, he noticed the pattern that whenever they made it to the finals, they had good big men. And that’s what he lacks for this coming season of the UAAP. "Natatalo ako sa recruitment. Wala akong ibang maipapangako kung hindi scholarship at ‘yung assurance na susubukan kong i-develop ang anumang skills mayroon sila."

Right now the Tigers are banking on rookies Allan Evangelista and Jun Dizon. These former San Sebastian players move like big men though 6’2 Evangelista and 6’4 Dizon are not exactly "big" compared to 6’8 and 6’7 towers of the other teams. Nonetheless, they are currently working on their perimeter shooting to somehow offset their disadvantage at the post. Based on the games they played in the Fr. Martin Cup, coach del Rosario noticed that their shooting was decent . "Kapag ku-monnect ang outside shooting namin, nananalo kami sa malalakas na teams."

With tried and tested Frederic Hubalde, Chris Luanzon, Dondon Villamin, Glenn Manching, Jemal Vizcarra, and Danny Pribhdas, the optimistic coach is going to try to make it to the top four slots. Because this might very well be his exit season, del Rosario is working hard on making this a good one for the Thomasians. "Pag-aaralan natin kung paano tayo mananalo," he said with determination.