The cat’s out of the bag. Coach Derrick Pumaren, fondly called “Manong” by close associates, is not the coach of the La Salle Green Archers anymore, Sports Potpourri learned a few days prior to the New Year.
La Salle team officials met with Manong Derrick early afternoon of December 30, 2022 to reveal the news that his contract will not be extended anymore. There is an unconfirmed report though that he has been offered by La Salle officials with another position in the hierarchy, perhaps as coaching consultant, to provide continuity to the program he laid out in 2020.
Pumaren accepted a 3-year contract to replace Gian Nazario prior to the start of Season 83. The COVID19 pandemic struck, forcing the cancellation of the tournament in 2020. He eventually coached the Archers in Season 84 when the team nearly made the finals, losing to the UP Fighting Maroons in a sudden-death game for the second finals seat. Season 85 though, was a different story as the former 2-time UAAP champion coach struggled with an assortment of injuries on his roster, falling to Adamson in a knockout game for the 4thsemifinals seat.
A reliable source has also mentioned that Topex Robinson is now the frontrunner to succeed Pumaren as coach of the Archers. Robinson, whose contract with the PBA’s Phoenix Fuel Masters ended last December 31, 2022, was reported to be considering various options apart from the contract renewal offered by Phoenix management.
A heartbreaking Season 85
There’s no doubt Pumaren is considered one of the greatest local coaches ever. He has won at all levels – two championships with Sunkist in the PBA, two championships with La Salle in the UAAP, 9 championships with various teams in the PBL, one PBA D-League title, and a PBA Coach of the Year award in 1995. The first product from the Ron Jacobs coaching tree, Pumaren, in an exclusive interview with Sports Potpourri, explained the difficulties he had to go through for Season 85. “It’s unfortunate that we lost three key starters in the latter portion of the second round. There were a lot of winnable games that we ended up losing, but these are the breaks of the game.”
Pumaren added that he’s “been coaching for nearly 40 years already and is not in the business to make excuses. As they say, players win games, coaches lose them.” A few games into the second round, the Archers lost Schonny Winston to a calf injury, and later, Mike Phillips experienced headaches and dizziness while Quiambao failed to play in La Salle’s last two games due to COVID19 health protocols. The Archers eventually lost to the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 80-76, and ended the eliminations with a 7-7 card.
Where to?
At this point, Pumaren said that he intends to “take a rest during the holidays and explore various options after.” It’s hard to imagine a coach of Pumaren’s prowess and knowledge out of the coaching circles given his reputation, not just as a champion coach but as a program director.
Sports Potpourri looks at possible destinations where Pumaren may be headed.
1. Retooling the UST Growling Tigers’ program
The Growling Tigers ended up with a 1-13 to end up in the cellar. They beat Adamson on opening night but yielded their next 13 games. New head coach Bal David was hired a few months prior to the season but the neophyte coach wasn’t given enough time to whip up a strong quintet.
Prized forward Nic Cabañero is the future of this team as long as he remains with the team. There are reports that a couple of schools are recruiting Cabañero and UST would need a coach with a solid program to make him stay. Pumaren, who’s known to handle top forwards and wingmen like Alvin Patrimonio, Rudy Hatfield, Vergel Meneses, Mac Cardona and Kenneth Duremdes in the past, would have the opportunity to develop Cabañero to his full potential while maximizing the strength of 6’8 Adama Faye, the school’s foreign student athlete. This remains a big IF though as reports that the SMC Group under Alfrancis Chua is seriously considering providing support to his alma mater.
2. Returning to his roots
Pumaren played for the 1978 UAAP champion team, the University of the East Red Warriors, alongside notable players like Rudy Distrito, Alex Tan, Wilton Roxas and Bing del Rosario. He also handled the coaching reins in Recto from 2014-17 before moving to Mendiola to handle the CEU Scorpions in the UCBL.
Curiously, a Pumaren protégé, Jack Santiago, is now running the program at UE. Santiago’s familiarity with Pumaren’s system may be evidenced by UE’s twin wins against the Archers on Season 85. They may have lost Mythical 5 member, Luis Villegas, but the Warriors are abundant with promising talents led by the Paranada brothers, Kyle and Nicholas, Rey Remogat, CJ Payawal, Clint Escamis, Harvey Pagsanjan and Gani Stevens. If somehow, Pumaren can act as consultant to Santiago and provide a mid to long-term direction, then it won’t be long to see the Warriors return to the Final Four with the hope of snapping a 37-year old championship drought.
(Photo courtesy of the Philippine Star)
Different capacity with DLSU
If there’s one thing the Archers strongly believe in, it’s the value of continuity. Pumaren’s stint at Taft, while it didn’t produce titles, is valuable in the context of non-disruption. Whoever selected to replace him would find his inputs just as valuable, especially given the fact that La Salle was the only team in Season 85 to have beaten the 4 Final Four teams (ADMU, UP, NU, AdU).
Simply put, Pumaren knows how to contend with the big boys and beat them as well. A new coach may find this difficult at the start, tangling against the likes of Tab Baldwin, Goldwin Monteverde, Jeff Napa, and Nash Racela. With Pumaren in the background, his experience and savvy may actually make things easier for the new head coach to jumpstart his program and put himself in the same league as Ateneo and UP right away.
4. Taking over Olsen at Morayta
Olsen Racela recently resigned as head coach of the FEU Tamaraws after coaching the team for 5 seasons. He had a career .500 performance as coach, winning 35 of 70 games in the eliminations, while winning 2 of 6 in the playoffs. But Racela opted to step down with grace after failing to lead the Tamaraws to the Final Four for the first time since 2012.
FEU is the league’s most successful school with 20 championships, two titles ahead of UST and UE. The school has always been proud of its recruitment program, producing topnotch players who went on to become successful in the pro league. They continue to be blessed with a talented roster, but there are reports that at least 5 key players from their roster will be leaving. Whether they stay or not, a revamp of the program may be necessary to infuse fresh faces into the squad. Pumaren may end up having a direct hand in recruiting top players in the provinces and mold them to the kind of persons he wants them to be.
5. Consider a foreign offer
In 2008, Pumaren worked as a coaching consultant at Hongkong and joined the team in the 2013 FIBA-Asia tournament held in Manila. Pumaren jokingly mentioned that “if Hongkong ends up upsetting Gilas, baka magulpi tayo sa Pilipinas.” Whether fortunate or otherwise for him, Gilas barely defeated Hongkong, 67-55, after trailing 33-29 at the half. Coach Chot Reyes was forced to give extended minutes to Marcus Douthit as he led the team with 13 points and 8 boards.
His HK stint proved that he was capable of spreading his gospel in other countries. Middle Eastern countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman as well as Southeast Asian neighbors like Singapore, Brunei and even East Timor may find his expertise valuable to lift their nations’ respective basketball programs.
No comments:
Post a Comment