| .
‘BEST’ carried Excelroof to the top –
Agustin
(March 28, 2010)
When former coach Ato Agustin steered
San Sebastian College to a stunning victory over San
Beda College in last year’s NCAA championship
many could not believe that the former PBA Most Valuable
Player (MVP) winner has what it takes to become one
fine bench strategist.
Since retiring from the PBA, little has
been heard from this humble “Capampangan”
who rose to national prominence when he won the coveted
MVP plum in 1992 while playing for the mighty San Miguel
Beer squad.
But all the doubts regarding Agustin’s
capability vanished into thin air on the night the world
celebrated Earth Day when he piloted Excelroof to a
masterful win over Pharex B-Complex in the 2010 PBL
PG Flex Erase Placenta Cup at The Arena in San Juan.
And what a way it was to win his first
PBL title.
Their 97-92 victory last Saturday enabled
Excelroof to complete its Cinderella tale, becoming
the first team since 1995 to win the PBL championship
on its rookie year.
Their victory was doubly sweet as they
completed a two-game sweep of Pharex B-Complex in their
best-of-three championship. They took Game 1 in overtime,
97-87.
“That’s make this victory
doubly meaningful for us,” said Agustin.
Excelroof’s PBL victory is also
a testament that Agustin’s NCAA championship is
no fluke.
“This is indeed a big break for
me and I have to thank the owners of Excelroof, led
by Mr. Edwin C. Chua, team manager Oliver Gianan and
the rest of our supporters, including my provincemates
who came here to provide morale support to the team,”
said Agustin.
Though Excelroof boasts of several stars
– Jimbo Aquino, Calvin Abueva, Pamboy Raymundo,
Ian Sangalang, Gilbert Bulawan and Chester Taylor –
it was Agustin’s brilliant game plan that spelled
the difference.
Abueva, who produced another double-double
with 22 points – 16 in the final half –
and 12 rebounds.
Agustin, however, refused to take the
whole credit, saying: “We won the championship
because of the BEST and that was shared to us by our
team manager.”
It was a simple strategy but it has a
deep meaning.
“BEST stands for Believe in yourself,
Encourage, Share and Trust,” said Gianan. “I
noticed kasi na medyo malamya sila ng matalo sila ng
Pharex sa elims, pero ang tingin that time para akala
kasi nila invincible na sila.”
“When I shared to them the true
meaning of BEST, some almost cried, and Ato took that
to heart and he was glad his players changed a lot,”
said Gianan.
It indeed worked wonders for the Excelroof
25ers.
The Excelroof 25ers fell behind by 10
points several times in the third quarter after turning
the ball one after another.
With his second unit rising to the occasion,
Agustin just allowed them to do their thing inside until
they gallantly cut Pharex’s lead to just two points.
Feeling he needed one big salvo to finally
turn their fortune around, he fielded back Raymundo,
Sangalang and Aquino only in the last six minutes.
In a flash, the complexion of the game
suddenly changed and the atmosphere became electric.
The first time Aquino touched he ball, he unleashed
a three-point shot which turned out to be the spark
the team needed to get the 25ers going.
“Magaling na si Ato, magandang humugot
ng tao niya,” said one long-time PBL habitué.
“Kita mo naman, pinasok na lang ang pang-diin
sa last six minutes.”
|
Custom Search