Codiñera turns career around

MANILA, Philippines - After forgettable stints as head coach in the defunct PBL and UAAP, Jerry Codiñera said yesterday he owes it to Arellano University athletic director Val Cayco for restoring his confidence on the bench. Codiñera’s payback was piloting the Chiefs to their first-ever NCAA senior men’s basketball finals this season.

Arellano wound up losing two in a row to San Beda College in the best-of-three title series but the feat of advancing to the finals will go a long way in rebuilding the Chiefs for the future. “With support from management, we’re hoping to go full-blast in recruitment,” said the 47-year-old Codiñera, a PBA legend as a player. Seven veterans – Prince Caperal, Nard Pinto, Keith Agovida, Levi Hernandez, Ralph Salcedo, Ice Ciriacruz and Christian Palma – are graduating so there will be big gaps to fill.

Starting next season, the NCAA will bar the recruitment of imports. Only foreigners now enrolled will be allowed to play. Cameroon 6-9 center Elie Ongolo is in residence at Arellano so he’ll be eligible. Codiñera said he’ll elevate the top players from Arellano’s Team B and look for prospects from other sources.

“The most critical factor in deciding the finals was manpower,” said Codiñera. “In college sports, it’s all about recruitment. With Mr. (Manny V.) Pangilinan’s support, San Beda has been able to build a championship tradition with solid personnel from the coaching staff to the players. They don’t stop recruiting, it’s a continuing process. That’s why there’s never a void in their lineup and they’re always a title contender.”

Codiñera said although he was known for his defense in the PBA, the Chiefs made it to the finals because of their offense. “I didn’t recruit a single player for our team, I inherited everybody,” he said. “I worked around the talent we had and used a system that was the best fit. We became a high-energy, run-and-gun team. I also used a balance of the triangle and dribble drive systems. Sometimes, I would let the guys go with individual plays depending on the situation. At first, I didn’t believe in the triangle but after using it, now I know why coach Tim (Cone) is so successful. During the season, I tried to infuse defense into our system. It’s funny that coach Vergel (Meneses) was known for his offense in the PBA and he turned Jose Rizal into a defensive team. I was known for my defense in the PBA and Arellano became an offensive team. I think little by little, we began to play tougher defense. I remember when we beat Jose Rizal, we had a poor shooting night but won because of defense.”

Codiñera said even as the Arellano community celebrated the Chiefs’ first entry into the finals, the mindset was to go for the title. “I kept reminding the boys to give it their all, that it’s the culmination of our dream, the biggest stage of their NCAA career,” he said. “Of course, I couldn’t control the celebration, you don’t tone down the enjoyment. Savor the moment but there was a championship to be won. All season long, I told the guys we thrive on determination and hard work. We’re not about glamor. Anyone who plays cute gets benched. If you don’t work hard, you sit. No acting up. We went out there to fight.”

Codiñera said after the Red Lions clinched the crown at the Mall of Asia Arena last Wednesday, he walked up to San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez and extended his congratulations. “San Beda is a dream team,” he said. “It’s complete and coach Boyet is a quality tactician. He also congratulated me for doing a good job. We go back a long way. We were together in the coaching staff of UP. During the season, we saw each other at the US Ambassador’s residence for lunch with visiting NBA and WNBA players. We even rode together in the car. He was impressed with how we turned things around. I was so grateful for his validation.”

Codiñera admitted he didn’t know how the Chiefs would react to his arrival at first. “I took over from coach Koy (Banal) who took over from coach Leo (Isaac),” he said. “So Arellano had two distinguished coaches before me. I looked at Arellano’s records in the past and I really didn’t know if we could do better. But Mr. Cayco kept telling me to be positive, that I could do it. Ever since I was with UE, Mr. Cayco had approached me about moving over. I wanted to pay him back for his trust. He told me to just be myself. I tried my best to motivate the players, to encourage them to learn, improve and develop. It was a gamble on my part to take over a team which I had no hand in forming.”

In the finals, Codiñera said San Beda’s zone defense was a killer. “We shot so poorly against the zone,” he said. “We tried to keep it close, we did everything we could, even going small. We got into foul trouble and were forced to go deeper in our rotation. We tried to hide our weaknesses. Basically, we had only two guards so it was difficult to sustain our continuity.”

Codiñera singled out Agovida for his stellar play. “He was outstanding, an underrated superstar,” said Codiñera. “He was our double-double guy like a do-it-all Arwind Santos. He’ll apply for the PBA draft next year and I think he’ll be taken. Another guy who did well was (Jiovani) Jalalon. He’s the Most Improved Player in the NCAA. Last year, he was a benchwarmer and this season, he made it to the Mythical Five.”

As for his two PBA-bound players Pinto and Caperal, Codiñera said they’ll need to work harder on their game. “We moved (Dioncee) Holts from small forward to center so that took away minutes from Prince,” he said. “We felt Holts was quicker, more efficient and a higher quality player. Not to take anything away from Prince. It’s just that we ran a different system this year that was more suited for Holts. I hope Prince is given a chance in the PBA. For Pinto, he has to improve on his shooting.”