San Beda coach cites selflessness

San Beda lost four games in the double-round eliminations but never had difficulty in disposing of Arellano as the Red Lions beat the Chiefs in five contests, including two straight in the best-of-three finals to clinch the NCAA senior men’s basketball championship at the Mall of Asia Arena the other day.

Lions coach Jamike Jarin said the key to bringing San Beda back on the throne was playing selflessly on both ends, offensively and defensively. In the eliminations, San Beda and Arellano tied for first place with identical 14-4 records. The Lions lost to Jose Rizal twice, 79-73 and 97-88, San Sebastian, 92-71 and Mapua, 101-97 in overtime but swept Arellano, 101-86 and 91-81. To settle pole position, San Beda defeated the Chiefs, 80-73, in a one-game playoff for the top seed. In the finals, the Lions blanked Arellano, 88-85 and 83-73.

After roaring to a 9-1 record, San Beda was dealt a severe blow when starting center Donald Tankoua went down with an ACL injury during the Lions’ 90-82 decision over Emilio Aguinaldo in the second round of eliminations. But instead of sulking, San Beda took Tankoua’s loss as a motivation to step up and prove its resiliency.

“With Donald out, we were sad but not worried,” said the 46-year-old Jarin who attended elementary, high school and two years of college at San Beda before earning a biology degree at FEU. “The beauty of our team is I gave everybody exposure so when you’re called to play, you’re ready to perform.”

Jarin cited skipper Dan Sara’s leadership and Nunu Noah’s overachieving performance as two factors that brought another title to the Mendiola campus. “Only Dan will graduate but we have good players coming in,” he said. “Donald will be back and K-Mark Carino and Clint Doliguez will be eligible to play after transferring from Ateneo and serving their one-year residency.”

Jarin said chemistry was never an issue despite the arrival of eight rookies. Last season, San Beda went to the finals but lost to Letran. The loss of Ola Adeogun, Ryusei Koga, Art de la Cruz and Baser Amer to graduation raised doubts on whether Jarin could bring the Lions back to the finals with a lot of big shoes to fill. Jarin, however, silenced the doubters.

“DaVon Potts and Robert Bolick are NCAA rookies but not with college ball and they’re proven winners,” he said. “Our holdovers from last season – Dan, Radge Tongco, Joe Presbitero, AC Soberano, Jun Bonsubre, Javee Mocon and Donald – played instrumental roles because of their experience.”

Jarin said winning the championship for San Beda was “very special because it’s giving back to your alma mater.” He dedicated the triumph to the Bedan community, chief patron Manny V. Pangilinan and San Beda alumnus President Duterte.

In the dugout after the capturing the trophy, Jarin thanked every single player on the team and made special mention of Sara who is graduating. But there will be no time to celebrate because Jarin is involved in the PBA finals as Meralco assistant coach. “Maybe, after the PBA finals, we’ll celebrate,” said Jarin.

Although San Beda beat Arellano in five games this season, it wasn’t easy for the Lions. Jarin said his focus was stopping Arellano guard Jio Jalalon whom he described as the Chiefs’ heart and soul. “We came up with a zone that limited his penetrations,” said Jarin. 

In the UAAP juniors, Jarin piloted Ateneo to eight championships in 13 seasons. He served as Ateneo senior coach Norman Black’s assistant for eight years, including the five seasons which the Blue Eagles topped. When Black returned to the PBA as Talk ‘N’ Text head coach, Jarin came along to join his staff. They’re back together at Meralco, now engaged in the PBA Governors Cup finals against Barangay Ginebra.