'Life is Aces' with Alaska for Joe Silva

MANILA, Philippines — Some Christmas presents come early.

In the case of basketball coach Joe Silva, it came last September 8 when Alaska Aces coach Jeffrey Cariaso gave him a call and an invite to join his coaching staff.

After an aborted stint with the University of the East Red Warriors where his authority was usurped by its erstwhile team manager, Silva thought he was headed for a non-basketball job. 

The pandemic changed many of those plans. But just as quickly as the Lord takes away, he gives back.

“It is an honor and blessing to be a part of the Alaska Aces organization. This is a team with a culture, tradition, and a history of winning,” gushed Silva. 

“This job came unexpectedly. I was leaning towards focusing on matters outside basketball when I got the call from Coach Jeff.”

With the Aces, Silva’s job is to assist the coaches and the players in any way that he can. 

“My takeaways from coaching in Ateneo was the value of discipline and the importance of culture in a team,” bared Coach Joe. “With UE, I learned to persevere more. So I hope to bring these learnings to Alaska.”

With the team preparing for the next stage of the PBA season (with the return of the imports), Silva admitted he’s having fun while learning the professional ropes.

“You can see the way Coach Jeff and the coaching staff conduct themselves, it is with utmost professionalism. These are people (Franco Atienza, Monch Gavieres, and Danny Ildefonso who Silva reunites with after Silva coached the latter’s two sons with the Ateneo Blue Eaglets) who have learned and played for the best and are applying that to the players and next generation of PBA stars.”

“Many of the people I worked for and with at the Ateneo are in the PBA – you have Sandy Arespacochaga, Gene Afable, and Jon Jacinto to name a few – and it is an honor to be with them at the highest level of Philippine basketball (outside the national team). I can’t wait to contribute to the Aces.”