Pido vows UST comeback

UST coach Pido Jarencio isn’t dwelling on the past.  Although there are lessons he learned from the Growling Tigers’ failure to defend the UAAP senior men’s basketball title this year, Jarencio says moving forward is more important than worrying about what went wrong.

From a rousing debut as UST coach last year when the Tigers won their first UAAP crown since 1996, Jarencio stumbled as the varsity barely made it to the Final Four and was ousted by Ateneo in a knockout game for the right to play No. 2 La Salle in the pre-finals.

To avoid prolonging the agony of lingering defeat, Jarencio assumed responsibility for the setback.

“I’m responsible, period,” says Jarencio. “I don’t like finger-pointing. It doesn’t do any good. For me, the rule is simple. If a team wins, it’s because of the players. If a team loses, it’s because of the coach. Whether you win or lose, you always try to improve. My job is to teach the players and motivate them to win.”

One thing’s for sure, Jarencio isn’t backing down from the challenge of bringing UST back on top.

“I’m not resigning,” he says. “We’ll bounce back – babawi kami. What inspires me is the support of the Thomasian community – the alumni, faculty, students, staff and management. I want them to be happy. That’s what drives me to win. When we won in my first year as coach, I gave all the credit to the community.”

Next season, Jarencio says losing finalist UE won’t be as potent with the loss of several key players. Defending champion La Salle, FEU and Ateneo will be the top contenders.

Then there is UST.

“We’ll be ready for next season,” continues Jarencio who began varsity practice last week. “We’ve got our nucleus. Last year, we planted the seeds of our rebuilding program. We know where we’re going, what kind of team we’ll have year after year. We have the material to be competitive.”

UST has lost Jose Cortez, Anthony Espiritu, Rum Perry Scott and Jun Dizon who are no longer eligible to play in the UAAP but will return Jervy Cruz, Dylan Ababou, Japs Cuan, Khasim Mirza, Francis Allera, Mark Canlas, Francis Soriano, Chester Taylor and Mel Gile.

Cruz averaged 16.8 points and 15.4 rebounds last season. Mirza (11.1) and Ababou (10.9) were other consistent double figure scorers. Cuan averaged 7.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists as the starting point guard.

Jarencio says losing MVP Jojo Duncil a week before last season began was a huge blow but isn’t making it an excuse.

“Jojo was a major part of our program,” explains Jarencio. “When we lost him, we had to make big adjustments. I was so confident with Jojo in the lineup. What I learned from that experience was you should always be prepared for any eventuality. I blame myself for not preparing the team more. I think I overcoached as a result. I was too intense. I got angry. It was tough on our team.”

After a 0-2 start, UST won three in a row and brought down La Salle, 81-73, and Ateneo, 87-74, before the playoffs. The Tigers eliminated FEU, 80-69, to squeeze into the Final Four but dropped a 69-64 decision to the Blue Eagles in a knockout playoff game. UST wound up with a 9-7 record.

“Before playing in the knockout game, I was quoted in the press as warning Ateneo to get ready for us,” recalls Jarencio. “I wasn’t boasting. I was just trying to put the pressure on them and motivate my players. Even if we lost, we fought up to the end. That’s what makes our team special.”

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