Valenzona returns as SSC coach

MANILA, Philippines -  Arturo Valenzona, who steered San Sebastian to the first four of the team’s record five-peat feat in the 90s, is back at the helm of the Stags in the 87th NCAA basketball season.

San Sebastian athletic director Frank Gusi, who also chairs the NCAA Management Committee, made the announcement after school officials decided to tap the veteran mentor as replacement for Ato Agustin, who resigned last November to accept the head coaching job at San Miguel in the PBA.

“After several months of searching, San Sebastian has decided to tap coach Turo (Valenzona) as our coach this coming 87th season,” said Gusi.

Valenzona thus became the oldest coach at 68 but the league’s winningest with four titles from 1993 to 1996. San Beda’s Frankie Lim (2007, 2008 and 2010) and Letran’s Louie Alas (1998, 2003, 2005) have three titles each.

Valenzona was replaced by Bai Cristobal in 1997 when the Stags became the first team to win five-straight solo championships in the country’s oldest collegiate cage league.

Valenzona’s vast experience as bench tactician would be a plus factor for a San Sebastian team that won the 2009 champion. The Stags would be seeking to regain the crown they lost last year when San Beda completed a historic 18-game sweep.

Incidentally, Valenzona’s 1996 San Sebastian team was the last squad to sweep its way to the championship before San Beda duplicated the feat last season.