Coaches shoot for first-ever title

MANILA, Philippines - There will be a new entry in the roster of champion coaches at the end of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals as neither Alaska’s Luigi Trillo nor Ginebra San Miguel’s Alfrancis Chua has ever won a title as chief pilot. The road to the throne begins in Game 1 of the best-of-five series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Trillo, 37, is in his third conference as Alaska head coach, taking over from Joel Banal on an interim basis in the Governors Cup last season while Chua, 46, is in his first conference at Ginebra’s helm since succeeding Siot Tanquingcen. But while both aren’t champion coaches yet, they know what it feels like to be with title squads. Trillo was coach Tim Cone’s assistant when Alaska took the 2003 Invitational, 2006-07 Fiesta and 2009-10 Fiesta Conference crowns. Chua was coach Norman Black’s assistant when Sta. Lucia Realty captured the Governors Cup title in 2001.

Chua fell two wins shy of claiming his first PBA title when Tanduay bowed to Shell, 4-2, in the All-Filipino Finals in 1999. He makes his return to the Finals as head coach after 14 years.

“This is unbelievable,” said Chua after steering Ginebra to survive four do-or-die playoffs in entering the Finals. “If only people knew what we went through, they’ll understand why I’m so grateful to so many, especially to Boss RSA (San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang). Remember we started the conference 0-4. When our series with Talk ‘N’ Text was tied at 1-1, he called the coaching staff to a meeting in his office. Can you imagine the San Miguel president taking time from his busy schedule to talk to us? He gave us inspiration and encouragement. More than that, he showed us how to win. Not too many know that Boss RSA really knows his basketball. We talked about how to beat the double-team on (Vernon) Macklin and how our shooters had to be ready for a kick-out. We talked about our defense. That’s how hands-on he is.”

Chua was so ecstatic that Ginebra beat the Texters, 111-103, to clinch their semifinal series for a ticket to the Finals last Sunday, he forgot his clothes in the dressing room. “I went home in my uniform,” he said. “I left my clothes in the dugout. Since it was Mother’s Day, I bought take-out food and brought it to our house so we could enjoy dinner with the family after the game. Then some friends came over and we watched the game on TV. It was a great feeling. I slept at about 1 in the morning.”

Chua said he was particularly proud of the way veterans Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Kerby Raymundo stepped up in the playoffs. “Fans are wondering how we were able to bring their game back,” he said. “Another big contributor was Rudy (Hatfield). If he didn’t sit out Games 2 and 3, the series could’ve ended sooner. L. A. (Tenorio), V-Mack and the others played their best. Our strategy was to let (Tony) Mitchell do all the scoring. He likes to score and doesn’t pass so Talk ‘N’ Text couldn’t execute their dribble-drive offense. It’s almost impossible for us to stop Mitchell one-on-one but he can’t do all the scoring. We wanted him to keep shooting. We also put pressure on him defensively by making Kerby post him up. When Jayson (Castro) hurt us in the third quarter, I asked Jay-Jay to take him, to make him pass instead of shoot, to foul him as a last resort.”

Chua said he’ll remind his players to forget about celebrating the wins over Rain Or Shine and Talk ‘N’ Text in the playoffs.  â€œNow that we’re in the Finals, the fire should still be there,” he said. “Alaska’s bench is deep and that’s their advantage. (Calvin) Abueva is a game-changer so we’ve got to be ready for him. We’ll probably use Chris (Ellis) or Mac (Baracael) to defend him or even Rudy. The key is not to be affected by the things Abueva does on the court. They’ve got (Rob) Dozier and Sonny (Thoss) up front so we’ll see whom we can match up against them. Against (Jvee) Casio, we’ve got L. A. and Josh (Urbiztondo) who are both quick. Josh is a pesky defender. Vernon’s intensity is a big plus for us. He took us to the playoffs and all the way to the Finals. We know he can take us to the championship.”

Trillo said he owes his ascendancy to Alaska chief executive officer Fred Uytengsu and Cone. “Both Fred and Tim have had a big impact on my life,” he said. “I saw how coach Tim did things. He was someone I really marvelled at coaching-wise, very calm when he needed to be and a lot of fire also at times, just a basketball genius. Fred today is also my mentor so I feel so blessed to have observed Tim before and have Fred now helping me out.”

Trillo said overcoming San Mig Coffee in the semis was a toughening process for the Aces. “The series prepared us for the Finals,” he said. “We really had to battle. I think that without James (Yap), they were a tougher challenge because they played more team basketball and they did just that.  We had to stick around and I think that kind of deflated them.”

Making it to the Finals wasn’t just a personal goal for Trillo. “This means so much to me seeing our whole team grow,” he said. “Leaders all around the organization, I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by incredible people. For our organization, this means a lot. Fred always stresses about doing it the right way and we have. We all understand the task at hand. As the saying goes, Carpe Diem (Latin for ‘seize the day’). We intend to hopefully do just that.”