No rancor in Rajko’s heart

Serbian coach Rajko Toroman said the other day he’s not taking it against anyone for finding himself out of a job after coaching the national team, Petron and Barako Bull in about five years of staying in the country which he has learned to love.

“I’m very proud of my five years in the Philippines,” said the 58-year-old tactician who led Iran to the FIBA-Asia title in 2007 and brought the national squad to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “My three years with Gilas were challenging and memorable. We were able to bring the Philippines back to the FIBA-Asia semifinals in 2011 for the first time since 1987 under very difficult circumstances and we lost to Korea by two in the battle for third. With Barako Bull, we were competitive despite injuries and a crippled lineup. For a while in the Governors Cup, we were fighting for first place against teams like Petron and San Mig Coffee. I’m very happy that at the end of the conference, some of the coaches texted to congratulate us for a good showing.”

Toroman said his contract is good up to February next year and he’s awaiting instructions on what to do. “I have no plans at the moment,” he said. “My contract is live so I’m not able to negotiate anything or even contact my agent. I respect management for whatever decision is made. It’s management prerogative to decide what is best for the team. We are professionals in basketball and accept decisions with no bad feelings. I’m just fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach in the Philippines where basketball is very much loved. My only hope is somehow, I have been able to contribute even in a small way to the development of the sport and the enjoyment of the fans who are very supportive and knowledgeable of the game.”

Toroman said watching from the sidelines, he was turned into a fan once again in closely following the recent Governors Cup Finals. “Coach Tim (Cone) and coach Gee (Abanilla) gave us a wonderful series,” he said. “San Mig Coffee showed a lot of heart in winning the championship. I think with a good system and a fighting heart, you have the two most crucial ingredients in building a championship team. Sometimes, it’s not enough to have the best players. Look at Miami. I remember coach Erik (Spoelstra) when he visited the Philippines, he asked about our system, he wanted to learn about how teams play internationally. He had the best player in LeBron James but not until he installed a good system at Miami did they begin to win championships.”

Toroman said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is a believer in making a team win within a system. “Many, many years ago, when I was an assistant coach with the Yugoslavian national team, I had the honor of taking dinner with coach Popovich and our head coach,” said Toroman. “I’m sure he doesn’t remember me. I think coach Popovich is a great mind and knows basketball systems.” Chuckling, Toroman added, “of course, it has nothing to do with his father being a Serbian.”

Toroman said he has no idea who will succeed him as Barako coach. “There is a lot of good coaching talent and I’m sure Mr. (George) Chua will choose someone very capable,” he said. “I wish only the best for Barako and Philippine basketball as a whole. I’m very fortunate I was given a chance to experience coaching in the Philippines. I wish to thank everyone who was involved in bringing me over. My family and I are very grateful. I will always cherish my experience in the Philippines.”

Toroman said he is not aware if his contract will be bought out or if it will just run its course. “I’m waiting for a decision,” he said. “I could stay until February if that is the decision.”

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Fresh from pounding out a majority 10-round decision over Mexico’s Perla Hernandez in the Yucatan peninsula last Friday, former two-time world superbantamweight queen Ana (Hurricane) Julaton said she’s ready to go back to Argentina and face her tormentor Yesica Marcos.

In March last year, Julaton yielded her WBO 122-pound crown to Marcos via a unanimous decision in the challenger’s hometown of Mendoza, Argentina. She managed to floor Marcos but somehow, that didn’t reflect in the way the judges scored the bout. Marcos remains unbeaten to this day and has added the WBA version of the title to her trophy collection. She has never fought outside Argentina in compiling a 21-0-2 record, with 7 KOs.

Julaton said she knows Marcos will never fight out of her home country but that’s not a problem. “I heard Yesica is looking for an opponent to come to Mendoza on Dec. 13,” said Julaton. “I told our media friends in Argentina I would be happy to oblige. All that needs is for her to promote Osvaldo Rivero to get in touch with my promoter Allan Tremblay. Whatever, whenever, whomever I will fight, please let all my kababayan know that I carry all of them with me every time I’m in the ring and I truly appreciate and I’m thankful of the belief that you all have in me through my ups and downs.”

Tremblay said he has an ambitious plan for Julaton to regain the world title. The win over Hernandez was critical in putting Julaton back in the championship radar. “We still want her to fight for the world title in the Philippines, that has always been the ultimate goal,” he said. But realistically, bringing Marcos over to defend her title against Julaton is an extremely remote possibility.

Julaton’s trainer Angelo Reyes said Tremblay is ready to pull the trigger and get the Fil-Am a crack at another world crown. “Ana is ranked No. 3 by the WBA whose champion is Jackie Nava,” said Reyes. “Ana is also ranked No. 3 by the IBF whose championship is vacant. Marcela Acuna won the WBO superbantamweight title this past week. So there are plenty of options for Ana to be back for a world title fight soon. Right after Ana lost to Celina Salazar last August, Allan went to Las Vegas to talk to Ana and set up her next fight. Ana got back in the gym immediately and started working with Roger Mayweather in the last week of September. In preparing for Hernandez, she did all her sparring with the Money Team supervised by strength and conditioning coach Chris Ben-Tchavatse. It was my fault that I didn’t pay too much attention to Ana’s training for Salazar because we looked beyond her, we were overconfident and we were focused on getting a fight on the Mayweather-Canelo undercard. I learned my lesson the hard way but now, Ana’s back. She wants a world title badly and with Allan’s guidance, she’ll be on the throne again soon.”