MANILA, Philippines — John Pido Jarencio is back in España.
University of Santo Tomas officially welcomed back the seasoned coach yesterday, as per the school’s publication The Varsitarian, after a week of speculation in the aftermath of Bal David’s resignation.
Both sides, The Varsitarian said, met and finalized the deal yesterday that paved the way for a much-awaited reunion almost a decade since Jarencio’s last UST stint and 17 years after their historic championship run.
Jarencio, a UST star himself during the 1980s, was the last coach to steer UST to a UAAP championship back in his coaching debut in 2006.
During his coaching tenure in España, the former UAAP and PBA star gunner guided the Growling Tigers to six Final Four and three finals appearances before stepping down in 2013.
He moved up to the pros with Globalport (now NorthPort) from then until this year when he became the team manager, switching roles with now interim head coach Bonnie Tan.