Hapee Toothpaste, which lost to four-peat champion Harbour Centre following a shocking collapse in Game Three in the last PBL championship, has accepted the resignation of coach Jun Noel and will soon name his replacement.
Team manager Bernard Yang yesterday said they’ve already talked to three coaches – Louie Alas, Joel Banal and Ronnie Magsanoc – but has yet to come up with a decision after Noel, who steered the Complete Protectors to a pair of championship appearances in three conferences, resigned after Hapee blew a 19-point edge against Harbour Centre in the do-or-die encounter.
“We’ve been talking to these people and we might decide before Jan. 15, or maybe as early as this weekend,” Yang told The STAR.
Yang said they’re looking for someone with impressive credentials.
“Our number one consideration in choosing a coach is his credentials. He should be someone who can help us win the title,” Yang explained.
Alas, Banal and Magsanoc all have posted championship finishes in their respective careers.
Alas, formerly of Toyota Balintawak, is currently the coach of Letran where he won NCAA championships in 1998, 2003 and 2005.
Banal, an assistant at Alaska Milk, for his part, boasts of titles in the PBL with Ateneo-Pioneer in 2002, the UAAP with the Ateneo Eagles in 2002 and then in the PBA with Talk n Text.
Magsanoc has won titles as a player in the UAAP with the Joe Lipa-coached University of the Philippines in 1986 and later with Purefoods where he is currently one of coach Ryan Gregorio’s able lieutenants.
Basketball experts believe that the Complete Protectors are on the verge of snapping a four-year title drought with a talent-laden cast led Fil-Am Gabe Norwood and would need only a reliable mentor to accomplish the feat.
The season-opening conference unfolds next month with Complete Protectors and the five-peat seeking Batang Pier as the early favorites. Others joining the tournament are San Mig Coffee, Toyota Balintawak, Pharex, Mail and More and the league returnee Noosa Shoes, formerly Blu Detergents.