LAST Monday, October 19, some 200 people gathered on a stormy night at the Ateneo Grade School in Quezon City to celebrate the 92nd birthday of Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, as well as the launch of a book about his storied career as an athlete and coach.
Looking around the basketball glitterati, I couldn’t help but notice how many of their distinguished careers are intertwined with the Maestro’s.
Here are the lists of players who played under Dalupan and went on to become head coaches in their own right and who have won championships. I might have missed some folks but here are the more prominent people I know.
University of the East (UE) Warriors
- Nat Canson—Played for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets before going to UE for college. Canson later coached Santa Lucia in the amateurs and professional ranks.
- Robert Jaworski—Coached Ginebra to several Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) titles. Son Dudut later played for Dalupan in Ateneo.
- Jimmy Mariano—Coached UE, Philippine Christian University and Presto. He asked Dalupan to join him as a consultant with Great Taste (GT) then gave way to his mentor, who led the Coffeemakers to four consecutive championships. Mariano later returned to the helm for that 1990 title with Presto as GT was renamed.
- Roehl Nadurata—Won two titles with UE (Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera) and served as a longtime assistant to Yeng Guiao up to his death. Nadurata played a tough brand of basketball. How much of that rubbed off on Guiao? But Guiao has repeatedly said that Dalupan has been an influence on his coaching.
- Pilo Pumaren—Coached UE and La Salle to titles and his offspring—Derrick, Franz and Dindo—have all become coaches; two of whom have won amateur and professional championships. He later served as an assistant to Norman Black during their San Miguel Beermen’s storied heyday.
Ateneo Blue Eagles
- Sandy Arespacochaga—Coached Ateneo. Has been an assistant on the Blue Eagle champion teams of 2002, 2008 to 2012 and is an assistant to Bo Perasol.
- Fritz Gaston—Won titles as a player for Ateneo and U-Tex. Coached Ateneo to the 1988 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) championship.
- Mark Molina—Coached Ateneo. Currently athletic director of Far Eastern University (FEU).
- Chito Narvasa—coached Ateneo, Purefoods and Shell. Head of Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines and current commissioner of the PBA.
Crispa Redmanizers
- Bogs Adornado—Coached Alaska, Crispa in the Philippine Basketball League, as well as Adamson. Was an assistant coach with the Ateneo Blue Eagles champion team of 2002.
- Cris Calilan—Coached Ateneo and Purefoods in the pros
- Philip Cezar—Presently coaching Philippine School of Business Administration
- Atoy Co—Presently coaching Mapua
- Bai Cristobal—Coached San Sebastian. Currently the commissioner of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Great Taste Coffeemakers
- Joel Banal—Coached Mapua to a pair of titles and also won championships with Ateneo and Talk ’N Text. Once said that Dalupan was his favorite coach in basketball.
- Norman Black—Coached San Miguel, Pop Cola, Santa Lucia, Talk ’N Text and Meralco, has a five-peat with Ateneo.
- Pido Jarencio—Coached University of Santo Tomas to a University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) title and is with GlobalPort .
Purefoods Hotdogs
- Elmer Cabahug—Coached the University of Visayas to 9 Cesafi championships, including a three-peat with Greg Slaughter before he transferred to Ateneo. Cabahug’s assistant is also former Purefoods and Dalupan player Al Solis. Elmer’s son, Mikey, used to play for Ateneo Team B.
- Glenn Capacio—Coached FEU. Currently an assistant with Letran in the NCAA.
- Jerry Codiñera—Coached UE and is now with Arellano University, who he led to an NCAA Finals appearance in 2014.
- Pido Jarencio—See above
- Dindo Pumaren—Coached UE and La Salle. Now with UE as an assistant to Derrick Pumaren.
If you look at the every single Ateneo championship in the UAAP, they were all helmed by former Dalupan players:
Cris Calilan—1987
Fritz Gaston—1988
Joel Banal—2002
Norman Black—2008 to 2012
When I told Coach Baby about my findings during his 92nd birthday celebration, he deflected any praise. “I have the benefit of coaching good people and good players. I am blessed.”
So are many others with his influence.
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Post-script: The Maestro of Philippine Basketball is priced at P2,000 and the soft-cover version at P1,500. For direct selling, the prices are P1,500 hard cover; P1,000 soft cover.
For more information, e-mail CoachBabyDalupanBook@gmail.com