Boni G, Chocolate Thunder

Ah, Fate can be so fickle sometimes. Just when you think the wheel of life puts you on top, it rolls over you and squashes you. And when you think there’s no way you can recover, she sends you the surprise of a lifetime.

Boni Garcia has tasted both worlds. The former player joined Manuel L. Quezon University as an assistant for one season before leading MLQU to two consecutive CUSA championships. Proving to be an innovative coach at the National Inter-Collegiate championships, Garcia was hired by the FedEx Laguna Lakers, where he helped mold today’s breed of pros like Rudy Hatfield, Chris Clay, Biboy Simon and Wynne Arboleda.

Garcia then coached the Pampanga Dragons before they went on leave. He then returned to the Lakers last year.

Unfortunately for Boni, when FedEx acquired the Tanduay franchise, the package included an existing contract with coach Derrick Pumaren. Once again, he needed to find another job in the limited and highly competitive field of coaching.

Serendipitously, known player agent Sam Unera got in touch with Garcia, hoping to be able to book imports for the Express, not knowing the situation. Unera himself was looking for some redemption, after the controversies of "Fil-Ams" like Rob Parker who had been linked with him.

When Garcia explained the situation, Unera had a brainstorm. He invited Boni to join the defending United States Basketball League (USBL) champion Lehigh Valley Dawgs as an assistant coach. It turns out that Unera is also vice-president for basketball operations for the team.

Garcia jumped at the chance. After all, the Dawgs’ head coach was a coloful center everybody knew: Darryl Dawkins. The self-proclaimed "Chocolate Thunder" spent fifteen seasons in the NBA, scoring in double figures in eleven of them. Known for his outrageous declarations that he was from the planet Lovetron, Dawkins gained notoriety for two things: breaking a backboard during a game and being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to make room for Moses Malone, who helped the flamboyant Julius "Dr. J" Erving finally win an NBA title in 1983.

Dawkins finished his playing career in Italy before turning to coaching. His latest turn was as an assistant coach during the Rookie Game in this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend, also played in Philadelphia.

"I will learn a lot from coach Darryl," Garcia enthused before leaving for Pennsylvania early Saturday morning. "Besides, this is a rare opportunity for a Filipino to be coaching in a major professional league in the United States."

Garcia speaks the truth. The USBL, which takes place after the NCAA season, involves mainly NCAA Division I talent. Thanks to an impressive resume (which includes training at University of Connecticut in 2000). Boni will now be tasked to handle the tryouts for the Dawgs, who are looking to fill their roster with five new players. Many USBL teams lose players to the NBA and foreign leagues every year. Dawkins has actually been offered a coaching position in the WNBA, but decided to stick it out with Dawgs.

Circumstances turned out better for Garcia, who was able to bring his wife Maryanne for the first month of his five-month tenure there. Although he will be missing his youngest child’s grade school graduation, he is hoping the new job in the land of opportunity will lead him to greater things. The USBL tournament ends in August, and by then, things may have turned around for Boni back here.

"I really didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I was scared," he admits. "But now, I plan to make the best of this chance. Coach Darryl told me he even wants to bring the team here for an exhibition series. And I might be able to find some imports or Fil-Ams who can help sharpen the skills of our local players."

What is significant is that, when doors looked closed, God opened a new window for Boni Garcia and his family, and it led to an opportunity that no Filipino coach has been given, a chance to coach professional basketball in the United States.