Looking at the big picture

Adamson University men’s senior basketball team assistant coach Vince Hizon isn’t about to sulk and hang his head down with the Soaring Falcons still winless after five games in the UAAP.

“I’m reminded of the Bible passage from James,” he said the other day. “When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. All my life, I’ve had to prove myself. This challenge is nothing new. We’re looking at the big picture, we’re thinking long-term, two to three years from now when our players mature. Am I worried? Not at the moment despite our losses. We’ve had some gains so it’s not like there are no positives.”

Hizon is on his first formal coaching job, joining former Ginebra teammate Marlou Aquino as assistants in Kenneth Duremdes’ staff. Back when he played for the Iloilo Voltz in the MBA, Hizon was playing assistant coach but that didn’t count for much. “With Iloilo, I was doing a little of everything,” he said. “I was assistant janitor, assistant manager, assistant ballboy. The only thing I wasn’t was assistant finance officer. Now with Adamson, I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I’d rather be an assistant than head coach so I don’t get involved in politics. I just stick to trying to develop the skills of the players. I’ve always loved teaching and trying to make others better. That’s what I’m doing at Adamson.”

Hizon, 43, was once one of the most popular players in the PBA. He broke in with Purefoods in 1994 then moved to Ginebra where the Prince enjoyed a stellar career, scoring a single-game career high of 40 points. Hizon saw action in the MBA for three seasons then returned to the PBA with Red Bull in 2002. He wound up averaging 9.7 points in 305 games over seven PBA seasons. Today, Hizon is often invited to play with Legends teams abroad and remains widely in demand for personal appearances. He often comes out as TV analyst for basketball games on Fox Sports.

Hizon said last season, Adamson placed last in free throw percentage, shooting only 53.7 percent. This season, the Falcons have improved considerably from the line. That’s not the only department where Adamson has shown promise. Against La Salle, Hizon said the Falcons’ defense took starters Jeron Teng and Jason Perkins out of the equation. “Our game plan worked because Jeron and Jason finished with only two points each,” said Hizon. “But the problem was we didn’t expect the second unit to step up. We got hurt by (Julian) Sargent who shot a couple of threes and that lanky guy (Yutien Andrada). Still, we achieved some of our objectives.”

In that contest, La Salle was up by only five, 23-18, at the half before blowing out the Falcons, 67-48. Kib Montalbo and Prince Rivero combined for 30 points to pace the Archers.

Adamson is almost starting over. Hizon said the Falcons lost three key players in the offseason, Ingrid Sewa, Jericho Cruz and Rodney Brondial. Duremdes brought in seven rookies and four other new faces from residency, keeping only four holdovers, namely, Celedonio Trollano, Antonio Inigo, Ryan Monteclaro and Jansen Rios. One of Adamson’s bigs Ivan Villanueva is only six-foot tall but beefy, maybe too beefy as he could use a weight loss to improve his mobility.

One of the Falcons’ losses this season was a 62-25 defeat to NU. Adamson shot only three points in the first quarter and added eight in the second. The Falcons scored six in the third and eight in the fourth. Yet, Adamson was competitive against last season’s runner-up UST and lost by only a point, 50-49. The Falcons, however, were crushed by Ateneo, 79-57 and UE, 99-72.

“We’re excited about the future,” said Hizon. “Marlou’s son Matt is 6-7 and he’ll grow a few more inches for sure. He’s just a rookie and we’re expecting big things from Matt. We’ve got about five Fil-Ams coming in next year, a couple from Los Angeles, one from Baltimore and two others. We’ve been busy recruiting. We’ve also got imports, we’ve got a 6-8 and a 6-10 to make us strong inside.”

Adamson’s only UAAP title came in 1977-78 when Hector Calma was still the King Falcon. It’s been 37 years since Adamson won a championship, the second longest title drought after NU’s 60-year wait. Under coach Luigi Trillo, Adamson went winless in two straight seasons before finally picking up. Coach Leo Austria tried his hand in turning things around for the Falcons and in 2006, took Adamson to the Final Four behind UAAP MVP Ken Bono. Austria repeated the feat in 2011.

Adamson isn’t without its basketball heroes. Calma, Duremdes, Aquino, Bono, Eddie Laure, Gherome Ejercito, E. J. Feihl and Patrick Cabahug all wore the Adamson colors. Hizon said sooner or later, the Falcons will soar again. With Captain Marbel at the helm and Hizon and Aquino his assistants, Adamson has a coaching crew that knows how to win. Their championship experience will go a long way in teaching the young Falcons that as the adages go, you can only win if you’re not afraid to lose and you’re a loser only if you quit trying.