WITH A career spanning three decades, Deputy Assistant Coach Alexander “Sandy” Arespacochaga has been a constant figure on the Ateneo bench. In his 22 seasons with the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team (AMBT), Coach Sandy has been integral to the Blue Eagles’ nine championships. His knack for player development has made him an essential cog in Ateneo basketball and the development of stars like LA Tenorio and brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena. Looking back at all of his accolades, Coach Sandy attributed the beginning of his coaching stint to a career changing event that he described as a “blessing in disguise.”

The beginning of a long road

From 1993 to 1997, Coach Sandy exhausted his eligibility years playing for Ateneo in the Senior’s Division of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Playing primarily as a small forward, he did not consider himself a star player in his heyday. In light of this, Coach Sandy had qualms about pursuing a professional basketball career. “I knew I wasn’t a great player. I didn’t know if aabot (reach) ako ng PBA,” he shared.

In his final season of donning the Blue and White, Coach Sandy suffered a fracture on his left foot, thus changing the trajectory of his dreams of pursuing a professional basketball career. When the Blue Eagles’ team chaplain Carmelo Caluag, SJ, offered him an assistant coaching position, Coach Sandy immediately grabbed the opportunity. He said, “I guess [the injury] was a blessing in disguise because I planned to coach the high school juniors team, be a teacher, and then also be an assistant in the seniors… I said sayang naman kasi it was offered already (I said it would be a waste [if I didn’t accept] since it was offered already).”

In his time with the Blue Eagles, Coach Sandy has gone through a myriad of jaw clenching memories, including UAAP Season 76. After Coach Joel Banal left the team in 2004, Coach Sandy became the head tactician for the Blue and White. With hopes of clinching another title for Ateneo, Coach Sandy steered the team to a first round sweep behind the play of Tenorio and Larry Fonacier. However, after Fonacier suffered an ACL injury in the second round, the Blue Eagles lacked firepower and lost to the De La Salle Green Archers in the semi-finals. 

“I learned a lot from that experience; and after that [year], Coach Norman took over. He led our team to five straight championships,” Coach Sandy said. After serving the Blue Eagles for a year as head coach, Coach Sandy returned to his mainstay position as assistant coach. 

Deputy in action

Despite often being the head coach’s shadow, Coach Sandy knows how vital his role is to the team’s success. While various coaching staffs run their team a particular way, assistant coaches serve as the culture-carriers to the players by being role models of holistic excellence in the AMBT. “We have to live what we preach. We want them to succeed and have a good career whether that is basketball or in corporate…So preserving ideals, we put emphasis on that,” Coach Sandy shared.

Aside from being culture-carriers, Coach Sandy and the assistant coaches play a crucial role in developing strategies and tactics in game preparations.“[Coach Tab] also values and listens to each one’s opinions and ideas. It’s good that someone has a different idea because you don’t want everyone to be yes-men,” Coach Sandy mentioned. This culture of open communication has boded well for the team as the results have been three straight championships from UAAP Season 80 to 82.

With the Blue Eagles, Coach Sandy serves as the coaching staff’s link by collating the assistant coaches’ ideas and relaying them to the head coach. “With so much going on in the game, it’s difficult if everything is thrown to him [Coach Tab] immediately. So, we discuss first then I tell Coach Tab,” he shared.

From being an exemplar to the athletes to working as the coaches’ middle man, Coach Sandy’s contributions to the team have made him invaluable. His steady voice in the locker room and on the sidelines has been the glue that holds the AMBT together.

Behind the scenes

Beyond the court, being a deputy assistant coach demands that Coach Sandy constantly improve his craft. As the quality of opponents’ game play continuously improves, Coach Sandy needs to constantly learn how the Blue Eagles can counter the opponents’ plays. For him, scouting the opposing team is one of the most challenging tasks as an assistant coach. However, this is a difficulty that Coach Sandy welcomes with open arms. “We enjoy that it’s tough, but it’s fun. Competition is fun because it gets the best out of us,” he said.

Coach Sandy’s three-decade long career has seen the highs and lows of Ateneo basketball. Behind the success of various head coaches like Joel Banal, Norman Black, and Tab Baldwin is an assistant coach who played a pivotal role in delivering all those championships. 

A mentor and role model to his colleagues and players, Coach Sandy sees coaching as more than a job but rather as an opportunity for him to impart his knowledge and experience to the next generation of cagers.