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| (Photo Credit: Patrick Gunnacao, Humblebola) |
Season 75 - ADMU def. UST
Season 76 - DLSU def. UST
Season 77 - NU def. FEU
Season 78 - FEU def. UST
Season 79 - DLSU def. ADMU
DLSU's made it twice. Ateneo's made it twice. So has FEU. UST? They've made it a whopping three times for the past five years. Another thing that separates UST from the rest of the Finalists from the past five years? They've never won the UAAP championship.
They've been bridesmaids three times now. It's only a matter of time before they become brides themselves, raising the UAAP title at the end of the basketball season. Sadly, from being just bridesmaids, they've been relegated to just guests, watching the rest of the teams in the UAAP try to become a bride.
Anytime a program is brought down instead of going up, it's safe to say that there's a problem. Clearly, something is amiss with regards to the basketball program of the Growling Tigers. What exactly can we point to?
Coaching
Ah of course, the elephant in the room when talking about the issues of the UST Growling Tigers! Coaching. Finding someone who can match the success of Pido Jarencio has been close to impossible.
Truth be told, Bong Dela Cruz was a decent coach. He was okay coaching the offense of UST, even using small ball line-ups during his Season 78 stint as head coach. But what he truly specialized in was defense. It's also fair to give him credit for helping in the development of could have/should have been S78 MVP Kevin Ferrer, and Mythical Five member Ed Daquioag. Sadly, there were some things which occurred off the court which led to his dismissal as head coach.
So now, UST finds itself with Boy Sablan. Before Season 79 started, fans were cautiously optismistic with regards to Sablan. There wasn't much talent in the Growling Tigers, but Coach Boy was someone armed with experience having been an assistant to Coach Pido Jarencio. S79 was seen by many as a rebuilding period for the Growling Tigers.
Sadly, that was far from the case. Instead of building from their Finals run the season previous, UST fell off the stairs, turning from potential dark-horse into a team looking for an identity. Multiple stories were written regarding the Growling Tigers, albeit for the wrong reasons. At the forefront of all of that was their coach, who failed to hold himself accountable every time the Growling Tigers would lose a game. Inside the court, it was even more painful to watch, as it was clear that Coach Boy had failed to develop his players well enough. Renzo Subido didn't turn to big time guard we viewed him to be. Marvin Lee wasn't able to build off his great rookie season. The list goes on and on.
Fans are correct in that regard. The coaching situation in UST hasn't been a rosy one by any means. But it isn't the only thing they can point to with this whole mess.
Recruitment
Recruitment has become an incredibly important piece in collegiate basketball. With High School basketball starting to produce more and more talent every year, college teams have realized that recruiting players from the High School basketball circuit is one way to go to if you want to be able to succeed in different collegiate leagues. Sure, development is key. But getting to recruit big time names filled with potential is also a great way at trying to help a team's cause. Other than those who play locally, a number of schools have also decided to get Fil-Foreigners from abroad.
Off the top of my head, let's take a peek at how UAAP teams have fared with regards to recruiting players in the High School basketball circuit over the past five years.
ADMU - Nieto brothers, Thirdy Ravena, Aaron Black, Raffy Verano, Arvin Tol- ok he's gone
AdU - Jerrick Ahanmisi, Robbie Manalang, Sean Manganti
DLSU - Rivero brothers, Aljun Melecio, Jollo Go, Andrei Caracut, pretty much every Top 5 recruit per batch
FEU - Wendell Comboy, Brandrey Bienes, Jasper Parker and other guys hidden in Team B
NU - Jonas Tibayan, John Lloyd Clemente, Rev Diputado
UE - Philip Manalang, Alvin Pasaol
UP - Gomez de Liano brothers, Paul Desiderio, Noah Webb
UST - Renzo Subido, Marvin Lee
Among these schools, you can separate UST and UE from the bunch as the schools with a bad recruiting record. The similarity with those two schools? They're not seen as contenders for a Final Four slot in the upcoming UAAP season.
Recruitment isn't just about giving players perks and gifts. It's about giving the players an opportunity to flourish under a great program led by a great head coach. That's what separates the Red Warriors and the Growling Tigers. Coach Derrick has managed to develop his players to some extent. The same can't be said for Coach Boy Sablan and crew.
Pair bad recruiting with bad coaching, and what do you get? A bad product. UE has been tolerable. UST has been awful to watch as of late.
What now?
Recruitment and coaching are just two ingredients towards a recipe to success. Someone has to be accountable for choosing those recipes and trying to make them mesh well to create a palatable dish.
Enter management.
We won't get to the nitty gritty of everything, but it's obvious that the UST Growling Tigers basketball team management has to do something in order for all of this to be fixed. For the longest time now, UST is a school that hasn't spent that much money when it comes to its operations as a basketball team. Some have defended this, saying that management is simply doing "what is right", "sticking to its morals" among others. That's nice, to stick to your morals and to try to do things the right way. It really is. But the reality of it is that, you need to be able to exhuast some form of resources in order to put out a good basketball team in the UAAP.
If you want to get a coach who will be able to develop his players as good as possible, you need to be willing to give that coach money for the service that he/she will provide. To be able to recruit the best players out there, you need to give that player a reason to play for that school. We're not just talking money or whatever lavish things fans normally have in mind when talking about recruitment. It can be as simple as having a basketball program that is stable and proven to develop players. Since we're talking about UST, the basketball program could also use its top notch education as a reason for players to go there. It is part of the Big 4 after all. Why not use that to your advantage?
No doubt about it, it's time for change to happen in the UST Growling Tigers' basketball program. UST just so happens to have some of the most (if not THE most) passionate fans in basketball. The players and coaches deserve more. The FANS deserve better. And one way the Growling Tigers can become the bride instead of the bridesmaid or just a guest in a wedding is if management is willing to hold itself accountable and find better solutions to its problems. The recruiting and the coaching problems? They will follow.
A University Sports Program (Basketball and other ball games) should consists and must follow an "Effective and Standard Guidelines" for evaluation and assessment of the player/s based on five (5) different aspects/components tests, and should no longer rely on merely instinctive, gut-feeling, nor recommendations or back-ups from agents or sponsors. The beauty of this program is that, if ever a player would cut-off the team or would unable to pass the test guidelines, they could actually see (documented) their weaknesses and improve in those aspects/components. This guidelines (test) are actually available in our door steps and are researched based studies that have shown positive results in other institutes and organizations, which we could have Management could financially support and have the IPEA-BPE program, CRS program, HR department (but it should include the Professionals [Professors & Instructors that are inclined in this program] and not the students alone) work on this together. We actually have the right & financial resources but the question there is, does MANAGEMENT willing to explore these options...
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