Bo and Boyet

MANILA, Philippines - It is uncanny how the coaching paths of Bo Perasol and Boyet Fernandez have come to parallel each other in recent days. Each has recently been thrust into the glaring spotlight of college basketball, taking the reins as head coach of a seniors basketball program that has not been toppled in the past few years.

Each came from what seems an unremarkable background. Perasol came from simple beginnings in General Santos City, then joined the UP Maroons as a walk-on. Fernandez grew up in Negros Occidental, took up nursing at Colegio de San Agustin in Bacolod and moved to Metro Manila to pursue his basketball career.

Each has had his struggles as a coach early on. Perasol butted heads with hardheaded players older than him with the MBA’s Surigao Warriors in the late 1990’s. Then he patiently waited until the Powerade Tigers became title contenders. Fernandez tasted his share of losing before leading the Sta. Lucia Realtors and more recently, the NLEX Warriors to championships. Not being an alumnus of the school he is now coaching, each of them was a dark horse contender for his new job. Perasol’s name cropped up with Ateneo’s search committee, but he almost bailed out when sports patron Manny Pangilinan had his differences with the school. Fernandez, meanwhile was Ronnie Magsanoc’s consultant in the Red Lions’ 2012 NCAA title run, but was only appointed days ago. And each will have to contend with diminished line-ups, as well as the double-edged sword of rabidly loyal alumni who would cheer for them one moment, then scream for their heads the next, should either have the audacity to lose.

“A lot of the alumni have approached me. Some were friendly. Some weren’t,” Perasol says with a nervous half-smile. “What I can promise is that we will find a way to win.”

After an encounter with then-Sen. Freddie Webb, Perasol was inspired to sharpen his shooting skills and evolve from an all-around utility player into a respected scorer for the Maroons before graduation. He now casts a backward look at his coaching track.

“In the PBA, we were looking at the finished products already. Now we’re coaching the raw materials,” adds Perasol. “In the PBA, I didn’t really have to earn their trust. As pros, they will work with you because that’s their future, their job. College basketball is different.”

In the UAAP, it’s a blessing in disguise that Perasol lost five key players to graduation, including most of Ateneo’s impregnable frontline. It allows him to create a new personality for the Blue Eagles.

“I don’t think they realize yet that Greg Slaughter isn’t there anymore, that Nico Salva is gone,” Perasol says candidly. “They’re still in the euphoria of being five-peat champions. But they will have to see that half of their scores that came from the low post aren’t going to be there anymore. They will have to find a new character to win.”

For Fernandez, coming from a relatively obscure background and being handed the college-coaching job of a lifetime makes it all the more precious. His early struggles give this chance more meaning.

“I think so. You really have to work at this job and take it seriously. It is very rare that – as someone who’s not an alumnus – you get to coach a program as accomplished as San Beda,” says the hard-nosed retired point guard. “You have to respect that. You have to give it everything.”

Fernandez speaks in soft, measured, articulate tones, patience is obviously a virtue he has mastered. It also gives him more reverence for those who have come before him. The Meralco assistant is surrounded by brilliance.

“I’m lucky that I’ve been getting great advice from coach Ronnie and coach Frankie (Lim),” Fernandez says. “Coach Ronnie and I have the same system, and I stress on defense just like he does. I’ll just continue what he was doing and add a few things of my own.”

One of the most common questions asked Fernandez is what he will do with the Fil-Australian Semerad twins. The 6’5” juniors bolted San Beda ironically for Ateneo, opting to sit out two years to gain residency in the UAAP. But with the coaching changes at San Beda, they decided to go back, curiously never having enrolled at the Ateneo. The brothers were scheduled to arrive from Australia Wednesday.

“They will have to earn their spots,” coach Boyet says of Anthony and David. “They left San Beda, so they will have to earn their spots. We’re going to run a lot next season, and we’ll be a more guard-oriented team.”

Perasol is taking over a team that has won the last five UAAP men’s basketball championships. Fernandez is now leading a squad that has won six of the NCAA’s last seven titles, and whose last two rookie coaches won it all. The pressure to stay on top is tremendous, but as Perasol says “I take that as a challenge. Somebody’s going to do that job, anyway. Why not me?”

Why not, indeed?