Who would’ve thought? (Part 2 of 2)

When Ginebra assistant coach Richard del Rosario applied for the PBA draft in 1996, he kept it secret from his family except for wife Yvonne. He didn’t want to raise expectations and doubted if there would be serious interest. So Del Rosario showed up at the New World Hotel for the draft alone.

To his surprise, he was picked on the second round, ninth overall, by Purefoods coach Chot Reyes. That was the year when Marlou Aquino was the first overall choice. Del Rosario reported for practice with Purefoods but never got to put on a jersey. “There was no place for me since they had two first round picks, Rodney Santos and Ruben de la Rosa,” he said. “So I went to Pepsi to try out for coach Yeng Guiao and his assistant Roehl Nadurata. I think they didn’t like what they saw so I went back to Chowking in the PABL. Then, I got a call from my agent Danny Espiritu. Jack Tanuan, Rey Cuenco and Bobby Jose were sick or injured so I was asked to try out again with Pepsi. I took out the two metal braces on my knees so I could look healthy. The spot would go to either Manny Victorino, a veteran, or me. They ended up offering me a 10-month contract because I was younger. The offer was for P28,000 a month. I told them why not make it a round figure and they raised it to P30,000. I remember playing in my first PBA game and getting a triple double – two points, two rebounds, two minutes. I also remember getting hit on the head with the ball from a pass and coach Yeng called me aside to tell me it’s okay to catch the ball with your hands.”

For a role player, Del Rosario worked hard to earn his spot. “I study a lot,” he said. “As a player, I used to watch all the games on my own, reviewing plays, tendencies, matchups. Even in the PABL, I made it a habit to go to the venue and watch games so I could study and anticipate what to do. On the court, I did things that never showed up in the stats sheets, like deflections, boxing out, diving for loose balls, playing defense. I was even an import stopper.”

Del Rosario played two years with Pepsi/Mobiline, five years with Sta. Lucia Realty and four games with Alaska in 2003. His numbers were far from impressive but he stuck because of his persistence and work ethic. He averaged 1.4 points and 2.8 rebounds with a personal high of eight points. “When I was with Sta. Lucia, I almost played for San Miguel because coach Ron Jacobs wanted to trade for me,” he said. “But Marlou and Dennis (Espino) wanted me to stay. I used to give them a hard time at practice and they liked the work I put in. After five years with Sta. Lucia and one championship with coach Norman Black, I went to Alaska.  I used to defend Sean Chambers and I found out it was Sean who suggested to coach Tim (Cone) to take me in.”

Suddenly, disaster struck. In May 2003, Del Rosario went out with teammates Rob Duat and Eugene Tejada for a drink one night. Del Rosario dropped them off at Mile Long and headed for home about 11 p.m. On Pasong Tamo Extension, he fell asleep at the wheel of his Expedition and rammed three posts. The Expedition was a total wreck and Del Rosario was carried out of the vehicle, bloodied. Construction workers at a nearby site rushed Del Rosario to the Makati Medical Center where he underwent two surgeries in three days. He had about 100 stitches on his face, his chin was sewn up, the back of his left forearm was closed with 10 staples and a cobalt chromium metal rod was inserted inside his bone to reinforce his broken right femur. Del Rosario almost died, was confined in the hospital for a month and stayed in bed for two months.  

“I went from wheelchair to crutches and learned how to walk all over again,” he said. “I was totally dependent on Yvonne. I was still in the Alaska lineup when the team won a championship in 2003 but I never played. My career was over. When I got well, I put up a trading company and sold corporate giveaways. In 2005, I was invited by Nongnong Calanog to try out as a basketball analyst for TV. That led to an offer to join Benilde as an assistant coach first under Caloy Garcia then under Gee Abanilla. When Gee got busy with Hapee Toothpaste, the national team and the PBA, Benilde made me head coach in 2009. While at Benilde, Caloy brought me to Rain Or Shine as assistant coach then Jorge Gallent brought me to Purefoods also as assistant coach in 2010. I left Benilde in 2011 and got a call to become the interim head coach of Purefoods. A few weeks later, coach Tim was named Purefoods head coach and I became his assistant.”

Under Cone, Del Rosario has been on eight championship teams, five with the Purefoods franchise and three with Ginebra. “No way I’m his lucky charm,” said Del Rosario. “Coach Tim already had 13 championships before I joined him. Working with coach Tim has been a blessing for me. If not for coach Tim, I probably wouldn’t be with any team in the PBA now. At the moment, my goal is to be the best assistant coach I can be. I’m trying to learn as much as I can from coach Tim. There is still a lot to learn because the game is changing. Whenever coach Tim asks for my opinion, I pray that what I suggest turns out okay. I remember in one draft, coach Tim wanted to pick a big guy but asked the assistants what we thought. We voted on it and coach Tim ended up not picking the big guy but someone who turned out to be a gem, Scottie Thompson. We all work hard to earn coach Tim’s trust.”

Del Rosario said coaching is a continuing learning process. “On non-practice or non-game days, I watch at least three hours of basketball on TV or YouTube to study, review and learn things,” he said. “On practice days, we do viewing, court drills and meet so that takes maybe 10 hours. Like coach Tim, I’m a John Maxwell believer when it comes to leadership and development of people. Being right-minded is what makes coach Tim special.”

Del Rosario was recently invited by Cignal TV’s Sienna Olaso to host a talk show The Huddle, aired on PBA Rush every Saturday at 9 p.m. His job is to anchor lively discussions with coaches, players and anyone involved in basketball. One episode featured players turned sportscasters like Ali Peek, Don Allado, Eric Reyes and Wesley Gonzales. Another episode had the “ageless” veterans as guests, including James Yap and Arwind Santos.  “I’m enjoying it because I get to talk to coaches and players as contemporaries,” he said. “It’s a welcome break. I also do commentary for PBA games on Cignal. I didn’t realize I’d missed doing TV work so much.”

Del Rosario has come a long way from being a long-shot trying out for a spot on the La Salle team in 1987. He’s gone through a lot in life to situate himself where he is and he couldn’t be happier any other way. Del Rosario and wife Yvonne are blessed with three children Paolo, 28, Joshua, 23 and Ysabella, 9.  He’s in a perfect coaching situation learning from Cone and giving back to millions of Ginebra fans by living the Never Say Die spirit.