Tribute to Coach Baby

Tomorrow, legendary basketball coach Virgilio (Baby) Dalupan will be interred after the 9 a.m. Mass of the Resurrection at the Church of the Gesu on the Ateneo campus in Loyola Heights. The interment will be a private ceremony. The final wake will be from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the college chapel tonight with a Mass at 7 p.m.

Coach Baby passed away last Wednesday at the age of 92. His daughter Cecile said he peacefully joined our Creator and was reunited with his four sons in heaven. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Nenang Gaston, seven daughters, 14 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, in-laws, siblings, other family members, friends and fans.

Last Sunday, the PBA celebrated Coach Baby’s life with a “Final Buzzer” ceremony where four of his former players, PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa, Allan Caidic, Alvin Patrimonio and Atoy Co joined his family and the basketball community in a testimonial at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

I wrote this tribute for the “Final Buzzer” ceremony:

“Today, we proudly honor a man who will forever be known as the greatest coach in Philippine basketball history. Today, the PBA pays tribute to Virgilio (Baby) Dalupan for his contributions to the sport we love, for touching the lives of hundreds, thousands and millions who love the sport and for bringing glory to our country in the sport we love.

“Coach Baby is our version of the GOAT, the greatest of all time. In a storybook coaching career that began in 1955 and ended in 1993 – a period of 38 years, he won 52 championships in the international, collegiate, semi-pro and professional levels. With the University of the East, Coach Baby led the Warriors to 18 titles, including seven straight from the 1965-66 UAAP season to 1971-72. In the PBA, he was the first coach to capture a Grand Slam with Crispa in 1976 and when he stepped back from the league in 1991, his collection listed 15 championships, nine with Crispa, five with Great Taste and one with Purefoods. It was a testament to his greatness that in 1995, the PBA Press Corps named the Coach of the Year Award in his honor.

“As a national coach, he piloted the Philippines to the Pesta Sukan crown in 1970. He was also at the helm of the national team that saw action at the 1959 FIBA World Cup in Chile, the 1967 Universiade, the 1970 Asian Games and the 1972 Pesta Sukan. Wherever he led the Philippines to battle, Coach Baby did it with class, respect and authority.

“Coach Baby was called the Maestro, the conductor of an orchestra that played beautiful music on the court. He had a flair for the dramatic – he knew which buttons to push in working the referees, he knew how to motivate his players, he knew how to rattle his opponents. Coach Baby was a master tactician. He had a knack for creating mismatches and a keen eye for talent. Some fans felt he wasn’t as scientific in his approach to the game as others who coached the Xs and Os by the book. But Coach Baby had his own book. Maybe, he wasn’t too scientific or scholarly. It didn’t matter. Coach Baby’s personal touch was magical – he won with intuition and instinct. His timing in substitutions was impeccable, his recognition of matchups was precise. He zoned when it was least expected, he pressed when it didn’t seem likely, he did things that were extraordinarily brilliant. Coach Baby enjoyed an edge that isn’t learned or taught. He was a natural, a born leader, someone who guided his players with a rare sense of command like a captain of a ship. He championed the concept of family in basketball and created a culture in playing the game that is distinctly Filipino.

“The awards that came Coach Baby’s way were par for the course. He was among 12 honorees who comprised the first batch of PBA Hall of Famers in 2005. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Sports Hall of Fame and the Philippine Sportswriters Association. He was bestowed the Olympism Award by the Philippine Olympic Committee. The accolades, the honors were more than justified. Coach Baby earned his place in Philippine sports history.

“Coach Baby was like a father to his players. His was their shoulder to cry on. He transformed mere mortals into superstars who were bigger than life. He showed his players how to win and how to be successful as any father would to his children. Alvin Patrimonio said he’ll never forget his first PBA championship with Coach Baby. ‘When Coach Baby came, we knew we would win the championship, that’s how good he was,’ said Captain Lionheart. ‘So when we won, we really did it to honor him, to thank him for giving us the chance to win a championship.’

“PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa played for Coach Baby with the Ateneo varsity in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Clearly, Coach Baby inspired Commissioner Chito to develop his own coaching career and to promote coaching as the long-time head of the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines. Commissioner Chito wouldn’t be as passionate and dedicated to basketball if not for Coach Baby’s influence.

“The man who has surpassed Coach Baby’s record for most PBA championships will never forget his baptism of fire. Coach Tim Cone went up against Coach Baby in the 1990 Third Conference Finals. It was Coach Tim’s first Finals appearance with Alaska and after racing to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, he was taken to school by the Maestro who swept the next three to clinch the crown for Purefoods.

“Coach Tim said, ‘You never heard Coach Baby say I or me whenever he spoke about his teams, it was always we or us.’ In Coach Tim’s mind, there will never be a greater coach than Coach Baby. Coach Tim said when the Maestro wielded the baton, it was like his team was a symphony orchestra. ‘To be honest, I don’t remember Coach Baby’s teams ever losing because it’s like he always won,’ said Coach Tim.

“When he heard about Coach Baby’s passing, Coach Tim said he was heartbroken. The entire Filipino nation is in mourning. Today, as we honor Coach Baby, we are humbled by the blessing that in our lifetime, we encountered a man as great as he was. Coach Baby has gone but he will always be in our hearts. His legacy is a lasting imprint and a forever reminder that on this earth, there lived a man who brought new meaning to Philippine basketball, who blazed the trail of coaching success for others to follow and who gave so much of himself to the sport we love with a passion.

“To Coach Baby, thank you for all that you’ve done. You will always be our Maestro, our hero, the Greatest of All Time.”