Del Rosario inalala ni Cone

MANILA, Philippines — Kasama si Januario “Aric” del Rosario sa coaching staff ni head coach Tim Cone sa arangkada ng Alaska Milk sa Philippine Basketball Association noong 1990s.

Kaya naman ikinalungkot ni Cone, mentor ngayon ng Barangay Ginebra, ang pagpanaw ng 80-anyos na si Del Rosario dahil sa cardiac arrest kamakalawa.

“He was such a steadying influence on me when I was a young coach. He always kept me grounded and taught me so much about humility,” wika ng 62-anyos na two-time PBA Grand Slam champion coach sa kanyang dating assistant.

Naging bahagi si Del Rosario nang makamit ni Cone at ng Alaska ang PBA Grand Slam noong 1996.

Nagsimula ang tambalan nina Cone at Del Rosario sa unang taon ng American coach sa Alaska noong 1989 na kaagad nagbunga ng korona noong 1991 Third Conference.

“The winning he accomplished at UST and the players he touched was unsurpassed. His humility and low-key personality prevented him from being on that conversation of the best coaches of the country,” sabi ni Cone. “But that was wrong; he was incredibly underrated and certainly should have been. He was truly a great coach and a better friend.”

Iginiya ni Del Rosario ang UST Growling Tigers sa ‘four-peat’ sa UAAP  na nagsimula noong 1993 sa likod nina Dennis Espino, Bal David, Rey Evangelista, Patrick Fran, Rudolph Belmonte, Edmund Reyes, Chris Cantonjos, Estong Ballesteros at Gerard Francisco na lahat ay sumampa sa PBA.

Isa naman si PBA governor Alfrancis Chua ng Ginebra na dinala ni Del Rosario sa UST noong 1980s.

“Dalawa kami ni Gido Babilonia na dinala niya from Letran to UST. He’s a passionate coach na napakabait na tao,” litanya ni Chua.