MANILA, Philippines - Former NU coach Eric Altamirano said yesterday he tendered his resignation at the end of the UAAP senior men’s basketball season because it was time to move on but leaves the Bulldogs with a strong foundation for the future.
Altamirano, 50, took NU to four Final Fours and one UAAP title in six years at the helm. The Bulldogs’ championship in 2014 broke a 60-year title drought. This season, NU failed to qualify for the Final Four with a 5-9 record.
“It was a tough year for us,” said Altamirano. “We ran into a lot of problems. First, Issa Gaye could’ve been an option for us as our foreign player but lost his red ribbon documents so we went with Alfred Aroga who was out two months with a torn quad muscle in the offseason. Alfred was not his usual self and underperformed. Then, Matthew Aquino was declared ineligible after playing five games. We’re still not sure of his status for next season because his father sued the UAAP. Without Matthew, we lost one of our bigs and it put a lot of responsibility on Alfred. Josh Sinclair also went down with an ACL injury. Overall, the lack of maturity of our young team was a factor. When we lost six in a row, we couldn’t recover. We could’ve used more leadership in the backcourt and missed someone like Gelo Alolino.”
But Altamirano said the Bulldogs will bounce back next season with the 6-9 Gaye of Senegal in harness and fresh recruits, including 5-11 Fil-Am hotshot Jordan Bartlett, shooting guard Coy Galvelo of St. Clare and possibly, Bullpups star John Lloyd Clemente. “The foundation is well laid out,” he said. “We’ve recruited top talent and the team will be stronger next year.”
Altamirano said the candidates to succeed him are “all deserving.” He declined to name a preference but said anyone of those in contention should be able to make an immediate impact. Among the candidates are Pat Aquino, Frankie Lim, Louie Alas, Pido Jarencio, Joel Banal, Koy Banal, Jeff Napa and Jamike Jarin.
Although Altamirano has left the coaching mainstream for the moment, he keeps busy as project director of the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC), now on its ninth year. Last Friday, he was in Pagadian where 14 private and public high schools are competing to qualify for the NBTC regionals. Yesterday, Altamirano was in Ormoc to check on the 16 schools playing in the NBTC eliminations and conduct a coaching clinic. Today, he’s in Cebu where over 30 teams are seeing action in the NBTC eliminations. The NBTC regionals will be held in February and the finals in March. This season, the NBTC has expanded its scope from 48 last year to 62 cities.
Altamirano said he hopes La Salle coach Aldin Ayo will join the NBTC clinics. “I remember Aldin coached a team from Sorsogon in the NBTC years ago,” he said. “Aldin wasn’t only the coach, he was also the manager who took care of the team’s expenses. He was involved in our elite coaching program and his support of grassroots development is well-known. After La Salle won the championship, I sent a text to congratulate him. I’m so happy for Aldin and the La Salle program. Aldin clearly put his stamp on the team, marking his identity. What he did at Letran, he was able to accomplish at La Salle. In the past, La Salle was a slow-down, deliberate half-court playing team. But with Aldin, La Salle became a running, aggressive and defense-oriented team. I think Aldin can inspire a lot of province-based coaches and it would be a blessing if he could join us in our NBTC clinics. Aldin is a coach to be proud of and we want to share his story all over the country.”
Altamirano said it’s hard to predict if he’ll get back to coaching. “I’ll follow where God takes me,” he said. “Whatever is God’s plan, I’ll do. When I took over coaching NU, it was not intentional. I was coaching the national U16 team when I was invited. I went on to coach the national U18 team. I had my commitments to the SBP so Eric Gonzales was appointed interim NU coach while I finished my obligations. It was a wonderful chapter in my life to coach NU. I will always be grateful to Mr. Hans Sy for the opportunity.”
This season, Altamirano said forward Matt Salem overachieved for the Bulldogs. Salem averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 14 games, including 13 starts, and shot 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. “Matt came from La Salle and we gave him the chance to play,” he said. “Matt delivered for us.”
A source of gratification for Altamirano is the progress of the NU veterans in the PBA. “Gelo (Alolino) is averaging in double figures as a rookie and Reden (Celda) is also doing well,” he said. “Some of the players whom I coached at NU now in the PBA include Troy Rosario, Glenn Khobuntin and Jewel Ponferada. I coached Jewel when we won the Unigames championship but not in the UAAP. Troy was special. He was on our NU championship team with Gelo, Glenn and Reden. Troy is actually a late bloomer. He was down with a slipped disc in his first year and it took a season for him to overcome the trauma and mental setback that hindered his development. For a while, Troy played the five position for us but eventually, he went to his natural position at four with Alfred and Henri Betayene at five. He blossomed in his final year with us. Now in the PBA, he’s playing three and being groomed to be the next Ranidel de Ocampo.”