A NEW ERA. The apointment of Bo Perasol and the announcement of the SEF marks the beginning of a new era for the Blue Eagles and Ateneo athletics. Photo by Christie K. Lim
BARELY TWO months after Manuel V. Pangilinan’s (MVP) sudden withdrawal of support from the Ateneo, University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ announced MVP’s return along with news of the expansion of the Basketball Endowment Fund (BEF) into the Sports Endowment Fund (SEF). Villarin also introduced Bo Perasol as the Blue Eagles’ new head coach.
Last September 21, 2012 Pangilinan shocked the community with his “complete and total disengagement” from his alma mater as things had arrived at an “irretrievable point” due to the Ateneo’s stand on mining and positioning towards the RH bill, thus leaving the two parties with, in Pangilinan’s words, “little or no common interest.”
Given the various forms of support that Pangilinan had graced the Ateneo with, his unexpected exodus sparked much discussion regarding the Ateneo basketball program, which he has been a benefactor of for many years.
In response, Villarin instituted the BEF on October 15 to generate the necessary funding for all the Ateneo basketball teams. Playing important roles in the birth of the BEF were Blue Eagles Team Manager Paolo Trillo, Team Chaplain Fr. Nemesio S. Que, SJ and the University Athletics Office (UAO).
The BEF
Originally, the BEF was structurally designed to benefit the university in numerous ways. UAO Assistant Director for Operations Emmanuel Fernandez was quick to point out that the BEF allows the basketball program to be self-sufficient. Meanwhile, College Athletics Office (CAO) Coordinator Benjo Afuang highlighted that the BEF would allow Ateneo to continue its winning tradition.
“It’s not cheap to maintain a basketball program nowadays, especially one that is as competitive and as strong as our program for the past five or six years,” said Afuang. The BEF was also established in order to avoid tapping into the revenue streams of the UAO, which is already budgeted for other Ateneo sports programs.
The Ateneo community, however, had mixed feelings about the said fund. Critics pointed out that special treatment was once again being given to the basketball teams. The “B” in BEF, after all, stands specifically for “basketball”—which brings to light a perennial concern of the community: “What about the other sports?”
From the Office of the President
The GUIDON had an exclusive interview with Villarin on November 19 in order to gain more insight on the BEF, the mixed reaction of the community, and the then cloudy future of the Ateneo basketball program.
Villarin, however, started the interview in a foreshadowing manner as he expressed optimism that Pangilinan would return.
“I’m not discounting the fact that we can still reconcile with MVP. I did not like the way we ended. He’s one of our own and we don’t treat our own this way. I hope at some point we arrive at an understanding. If we should part ways, we should part ways as friends. If there’s a way he could come back, we also welcome him,” said Villarin.
On the negative reaction that the BEF elicited, Villarin said, “At some point, I also would like to develop the other sports. Right now, the most urgent is basketball, but that does not mean we will stop there.”
Villarin spoke of the new Moro Lorenzo Football Field and its eight-lane Olympic track oval as an example of the university’s efforts to reach out to other sports. “We’re also sending a signal that it’s not just basketball and I hope our athletes see that,” added Villarin, who also spoke of his vision of an umbrella fund that would support all Ateneo sports.
The BEF would be composed of a principal amount of P250 million, which the university will use to generate interest, 5% of which will be the P12.5 million needed by the Ateneo basketball program for a year. This includes all operational costs, but not the salary for the Blue Eagles head coach and the expenses for the Blue Eagles’ yearly summer training camp in the United States.
Ultimately, the November 19 interview impressed the notion that Pangilinan, who had then already declared support for the University of the Philippines, would possibly return to the Ateneo despite the two parties’ bitter separation.
MVP’s return
On November 26, a week after the interview, came the Hollywood ending—Pangilinan and Ateneo had reunited. A memo from Villarin posted on the university website said that they had been meeting “in an effort to create a more open and constructive partnership.”
“I met with him one-on-one and we talked about it. I told him to learn from this and put the past behind us,” said Villarin in a phone interview with The GUIDON on November 27. “We will institute mechanisms for future situations so we can keep communication lines open when it comes to matters of principle.”
Villarin also revealed that this meeting occurred just days before the November 19 interview with The GUIDON.
Blue Eagles’ new head coach
The reunion of Ateneo and Pangilinan also brought along the new head coach of the Blue Eagles: Bo Perasol.
As early as August, Perasol was already being rumored to be a frontrunner for the job. In fact, Villarin shared that he and Perasol entered into a contract last September, which stated that the latter would take the job only after Season 75. Both parties agreed it would be best for the team to undergo the change after the season to avoid any distractions during the Drive for Five.
When things fell apart between Ateneo and Pangilinan, however, Perasol and Villarin mutually agreed to release each other from the contract.
“When MVP left, Bo and I talked. We agreed that we would release each from the contract. I was surprised to find people had negative feelings about Bo leaving. Bo never left us. I never offered him the job. A lot of people reacted negatively to Bo’s departure. Some even called him a traitor, but I just want to state that I never offered him the job,” emphasized Villarin.
After Pangilinan and Ateneo patched things up, Villarin and Perasol met to reconsider the termination of their earlier agreement. Perasol officially stepped in as Blue Eagles head coach on December 1 while the team participated in the 2012 Jesuit Athletic Meet at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
Aside from Perasol, the Search Committee’s short list of candidates for head coach included former King Eagle and current Petron Blaze Boosters Head Coach Olsen Racela and current Blue Eagles Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga, who declined. “At this point [Arespacochaga] thinks it’s not the right time for him to be head coach,” said Villarin.
A source close to Racela, meanwhile, said that the Ateneo Hall of Famer met with the Search Committee, but the former was concerned that he may not be prepared to take on such a position. This meeting was prior to Racela’s appointment as head coach of the Petron Blaze Boosters, which also surprised the former Blue Eagle.
Alex Compton, assistant coach of the Powerade Tigers, was also rumored to be on the list. According to Villarin, however, the Search Committee no longer considered Compton. “In the end, the search committee gave me one name,” said Villarin, “and it was Perasol.”
From BEF to SEF
Villarin decided to proceed with the plans for the endowment fund despite Pangilinan’s return. “It was my idea to maintain the fund especially since the response has been good from the alumni,” said Villarin, who then expanded the BEF into the SEF, fulfilling his dream of an umbrella fund for all Ateneo sports.
Pangilinan, meanwhile, also pledged support for the SEF through the MVP Sports Foundation. The SEF will be managed by a board to be led by Que.
“I would like to appeal to the Ateneo community to continue supporting our Ateneo athletics program, especially with the SEF now in place to help our different sports teams. The past few months have been very hard for us, but we’ve become better and learned much from this experience,” said Villarin.
