Capacio eyed as FEU mentor

After a forgettable UAAP basketball season this year, Far Eastern University is raring to come back strong with former PBA veteran Glenn Capacio being eyed to handle the Tamaraws campaign next year.

Elevated from assistant to head coach last October, Capacio has been impressive as bench tactician the past few months as he steered the Morayta-based school to the Fr. Martin Cup second conference title and a third place finish in the Fil-Oil UAAP-NCAA event.

If the eight-time former member of the PBA defensive team keeps it up, he could be the man for FEU for Season 70 of the UAAP cage wars next year.

"We still have the Home and Away tournament in January next year and the Nike Summer League," said Anton Montinola, FEU’s senior representative to the league board.

"He (Capacio) is very hardworking, patient and competitive. He leads by example. So far, so good," he added.

Mark Molina, FEU’s athletic director, also said Capacio might just end up keeping his post until next season where FEU is expected to go all out for a league-best 20 senior basketball titles.

"Coach Glenn has been doing well, there is a strong chance he might be our coach until next season," Molina said.

Montinola disbanded the Tams after failing the make the Final Four this season, a year after copping their 19th UAAP cage crown.

The holdovers of the team are Benedict Fernandez, JR Gerrilla and Marnel Baracael, who are expected to return next season to join some players from its second team and some promising rookies that were part of the team that finished second in the UAAP high school competition this year.

Montinola, however, said Flores, who steered the Tams to the 2005 crown, is now the team’s consultant.

"Whatever happens, coach Bert will be our consultant. In fact, he just arrived from Maui , Hawaii and the United States," said Montinola.

Capacio is expected to make the Tams a defense-oriented team, since defense was his forte when he was still a PBA player. In fact, Capacio was named into the PBA Defensive Team a second best eight times.

Only Jerry Codinera, now mentor of the TeleTech Titans in the PBA, was ahead with nine.

Capacio will thus join a field of former PBA players and coaches who are now mentors in the UAAP like Norman Black of Ateneo, Joe Lipa of State U, Pido Jarencio of Santo Tomas, Dindo Pumaren of University of the East, Franz Pumaren of La Salle and former three-time PBA MVP William "Bogs" Adornado of the Adamson Falcons.