Humblebola

By Eriko dela Cruz

Alfredo “Pido” Jarencio first came into the UST coaching limelight as a Glowing Goldies (as they were known at the time) legend dipping his toes into collegiate coaching for the first time. He was brought in to replace Nel Parado whose helmed a disastrous UAAP Season 68 which saw UST miss the Final Four bus. 

He didn’t exactly hit the ground running in his first coaching stint, as most of the players on that roster were recruits of other coaches. While talent like Jemal Vizcarra, Jervy Cruz, Dylan Ababou and Jojo Duncil were there, unfortunate events (Jemal Vizcarra’s injury and John Lee Apil’s untimely demise) saw them in a 2-5 hole. It took a while, but Pido finally started to get through to his players and they eventually picked up the pace and barged into the Final Four and ultimately the Finals where they faced a juggernaut in Coach Norman Black and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

We all know the story. Doug Kramer’s literal last second shot in game 1. A storm (pun intended) of points in game 2. Brown butterfly and ultimately ending 28 years of frustration for UST in game 3. Pride, Puso, Palaban. – Pido

The following seasons were up and down for Coach Pido and UST, as they made a smattering of Final Four appearances (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013) and two finals appearances (2012, 2013) but failed to re-capture the magic of 2006. Even then, there was a certain swagger and hunger in him and his Growling Tigers that forced opposing coaches to take them seriously regardless of standing.

Fast forward to 2023, the UST basketball program is again in a rut, floundering at the bottom of the rankings season after season, a shadow of the once-mighty team that went toe-to-toe with arguably the greatest team the UAAP has ever seen– the 16-0 Ateneo Blue Eagles. Who do they call to right the ship? None other than UST’s most beloved coach, the last to successfully bring the korona back to España., 

But six games into the season, the man at the helm today seems to be very different. Yes, on his lanyard the ID card still reads Alfredo “Pido” Jarencio. He is still the same stout man with the lowest-maintenance haircut possible. He still has the same humor. And yet he’s very different.

He is no longer out to prove himself having already become the standard. The fire in the sidelines seems to be a parody of the one that once blazed inside of him decades past. Now, he seems more like a glamor coach, one with a storied history of battling the Norman Blacks and Franz Pumarens of the world, armed with super friends and backed by one of the Philippines’ biggest corporations. Six games in, having coach Pido return to UST seems to be more of a novelty rather than a strategy. A feeble attempt to recapture the Pido magic that once was in order to make UST great again. Pride, Puso, Palaban seem to be just words that start with the same letter and no longer the team mindset.

The good news is, there are still eight more games in the season to right this sinking ship.

To stand a chance of doing that they have to find the Pride, Puso, Palaban in this new batch of Tigers. The talent is there. Nic Cabañero, Ivanne Calum, Christian Manaytay, and SJ Moore are good players to build around. Much like 2006, coach Pido has to make do with the cards he is dealt and maximize their talents. He has to be the one to instill the winning mindset to his boys, and make them believe that they pose a challenge to any team they face.

Before the korona, Tiger Power has to first come back to España.