#* feat

[dpinoycosmonaut]

COULD VICTOLERO BE A GREAT COACH?

by Bert A. Ramirez / January 15, 2019

               I was talking to Monchito Mossesgeld, a good friend since our Ayala days, while meeting him on one of my visits at a part-time engagement in Makati, and the former Purefoods team manager, who oversaw the team before the franchise was sold by the Ayala Group (mistakenly I would say) to San Miguel Corporation in 2001, assessed with me current Magnolia coach Chito Victolero, who won his first title of any kind after the Hotshots closed out the Alaska Aces in six games last December 19 to capture the 2018 Governors’ Cup championship.

               I told Monchito that I hoped Victolero would improve his craft further, trying to ferret out his view of the man who steered the franchise to the first title it has won since Tim Cone was suddenly pulled out of the team’s bench to steer the Giñebra Gin Kings, then on an eight-year title drought, before the 2015-16 season.  Mossesgeld, after all, was in a good position to offer his thoughts, having seen Chot Reyes and Eric Altamirano lead the then-Purefoods club to a championship in the very first conferences they coached, one of three Purefoods coaches to achieve that exclusive feat (the third, Ryan Gregorio, came after the franchise has been sold to the SMC Group).

               Overall, Monchito and I were in agreement that Victolero was a good coach.  But just as i thought, Monchito also felt the Hotshots headman was not able to maximize the talent at his disposal.  Case in point: Aldrech Ramos and P.J. Simon.

               This was carried in the remark that Monchito made: “Ano na ang nangyari kay Ramos?”  Ramos, with the exception of the Game 3 blowout where Alaska gave the Hotshots one of their worst beatings 100-71 in franchise history, never got off the bench in the Governors’ Cup finals, making many wonder what has happened to what was once one of the best stretch power forwards in the league who averaged 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds for Kia before he was traded to Magnolia prior to the 2016-17 season.

               Ramos’ rare usage was such that when he got those now-occasional calls, he seemed to have lost what used to be a sharp eye and was no longer effective from the offensive end, his primary value as a player. This demonstrates the deterioration that anybody would undergo if he wastes on the bench during actual games no matter if he regularly puts in those practices.  What is ironic is that Ramos played under Victolero when he had that career year with Kia, and though his relegation is supposed to have been an offshoot of Chito’s defense-first approach, it still doesn’t fully make sense to see the 6-foot-7 frontliner become a virtually forgotten man on the bench.

               Also a source of puzzlement is the erratic use by Victolero of Simon, one of the most efficient scorers in franchise history and still perhaps the best creator among the Hotshots’ current players.  But P.J., despite those credentials and having shown enough spunk when given the chance even at 38, has also suffered the fate of Ramos, albeit to a lesser extent.  This continues to puzzle the team’s followers particularly when Magnolia finds it hard to generate offense and the shots from the team’s main weapons are not falling.

               And what about Robbie Herndon, the rookie for whom the Hotshots traded three big-man prospects, Lervin Flores, Joseph Gabayni and Julian Sargent, to GlobalPort during the 2017 draft? Herndon, for all that package given up by the Hotshots, hardly got off the bench himself. Only when he got those occasional calls, particularly in the last playoffs, was he able to show flashes of his game – a good outside shot and offensive game plus passable defense – making observers wonder why he hasn’t gotten into the regular rotation of Victolero.  In Game 1 of the Governors’ Cup finals, for example, Herndon was a surprise starter and delivered a conference-high nine points, making all his three floor attempts, including two triples.  

               The truth is that there are people who think the 6-3 Herndon would have been farther along in his development and would have been a solid contributor in the mold of higher-ranked fellow rookies Jason Perkins, Jeron Teng, and, yes, Christian Standhardinger had he been given more opportunities by his coach.

               One other area where Victolero can stand improvement is in in-game adjustments.  Mossesgeld didn’t get to touch on this aspect but it’s obvious that the current Hotshots mentor still gets flustered particularly when pitted against seasoned coaches like Tim Cone and Leo Austria or confronted with adverse situations where his team seems outplayed.  This was obvious in the games where Alaska blew out Magnolia as Victolero failed to stem the tide when the Aces got hot and applied fullcourt pressure defense against the Hotshots’ ballhandlers, something Victolero and his staff should have found an antidote for but seemed unable to solve.  And remember those Manila Clasico games against Giñebra, where the Hotshots lost seven straight games at one point with Victolero calling the shots in the last four?  Until the Hotshots finally broke Giñebra’s spell during the Governors’ Cup semifinals, Chito fell short every time he matched wits with the highly-esteemed Cone, who some consider the greatest coach in PBA history.  

               So this is one major trait that Victolero has to fully develop to get to the level of greatness.  Unless he is able to adjust on the fly in order to find the antidote or to neutralize the opposing squad’s ploys, he’ll never fully graduate into a great coach the way Cone, Baby Dalupan, Chot Reyes or Ryan Gregorio has in his lifetime.

               Perhaps it’s unfair to expect the Magnolia tactician to blossom into that man quickly as some of his predecessors in the franchise did.  But the ability to make in-game adjustments is unmistakably one quality that will finally stamp greatness on his resume.  

               Chito already has that one quality that is a prerequisite to any coach who aspires to be successful – excellent interpersonal skills. From the time he took over the helm from an overmatched Jason Webb in 2016, he’s made it a point to cultivate a good interpersonal relationship with his players with his players-first approach.  And he has succeeded as he has obviously drawn positive response from the Hotshots.

               “Ako, naging player ako, so alam ko kung ano ang gusto ng player, ano yung ayaw ng player,” the 43-year-old Victolero, who played with Sta. Lucia and FedEx for three years, said.  “Ang sa akin lang, give and take.  I think they know me ngayon and kilala ko na rin sila, so pinapakita lang namin sa isa’s-isa yung respeto.  Yun naman yung importante eh.  Ako naman, player’s coach ako eh, so titingnan ko muna ano ang makakabuti sa player, then after that, the Xs and Os will come.  If they’re properly motivated, they will play.”

               “He’s not the dude (at) the top of the tower just watching down and giving rules.  He’s the one actually working as well,” former player Leo de Vera said. “Even in his work ethic, he’s usually the first here also out of all the coaches.  He’s jogging, he does work, too.  I’m pretty sure that’s not the only thing he does – he’s got his businesses, he’s got his own family to handle, so it’s really inspiring.”

               Records-wise, Victolero’s first two years at the Hotshots helm is comparable to that of the last great coach of the franchise he has followed, and hopefully tail into greatness, too.  He has compiled a 36-21 overall record in the season that he just topped off with a championship.  The previous season that served as his first year on the hot seat, he had a not-too-shabby 32-20 mark that he punctuated with three semifinal appearances.

               Cone, on the other hand, put together season records of 38-24, 38-26 and 41-30 in his first three campaigns with the franchise, and had a so-so 25-20 log during his last year that was uncharacteristically a struggle for a Cone-coached ballclub.

               So numbers-wise, Victolero has got it made. But as everyone knows, it’s not the number of games alone that one wins which determines a coach’s niche; it’s more of the kind of games he does, and how many championships he ends up with in winning those games.

               Victolero should do even better if he improves on the weaknesses we pointed out, and could very well end up as one of the Purefoods franchise’s, and the PBA’s coaching greats if he does.

(Photo from inquirer.net)

[waywcrdsons-blog]

@devilsbound

Still sleepy from a late night, Ashley was busy in the kitchen of his shared apartment doing his best Martha Stewart impression. Slaving over a cold counter, he quietly filled the bowl with the contents of the Captain Crunch box in his hand -- the one with ASHLEY’S!!!! sharpie’d on in large garish letters -- before placing the box back and adding milk. 

He has no idea how much Jules likes, so he goes with the same amount his brother takes, rather than Ashley’s preferred volume that leaves the cereal soggy and swimming in a lactose grave. 

Grimacing at having to take a big spoon, he placed it in the bowl and carefully walked it over to where his sleeping house guest was located on the couch. He perched on the edge of the coffee table, holding out his carefully prepared effort before he cleared his throat loudly. 

“Good morning!!” Too much far too early, he reminds himself, lowering his volume then. 

“I made you breakfast! You seem like you could do with it. It’s a little french dish my grandmother taught me called Le Cap’n de Cronch -- I’m just fucking with you. It’s Captain Crunch.”