By Jerome Lagunzad
What a difference a year makes.
Exactly a year ago, Boyet Fernandez found himself in an uncomfortable position after he was given the pink slip by the NLEX Road Warriors management which sought a different direction with multi-titled pro league tactician Yeng Guiao.
A one-time PBA champion mentor with defunct Sta. Lucia Realty, Fernandez, 46, steered the rebuilding NLEX side to five playoff appearances in six conferences but could not get past the quarterfinal round, perhaps costing him his job.
“I know I was down there after last year,” he recalled. “It’s tough for me with all the situation that I had in the past. What happened to me was so bad that I thought I’d never coach again.”
But Fernandez’s wait for another chance didn’t last that long since long-time San Beda team manager Jude Roque approached him a month after and offered the coaching gig that former Red Lions coach Jamike Jarin left to join National University in the UAAP.
Inheriting an intact and solid lineup led by heady playmaker Robert Bolick, do-it-all forward Javee Mocon and recovering Cameroonian Donald Tankoua, Fernandez did just little to fine-tune their plays and gearing the Red Lions up for another title quest in the 93rd NCAA seniors basketball tournament.
However, it didn’t start according to plan as San Beda stumbled to an early slip against fast-rising challenger Lyceum on its second match and suffered another morale-deflating blow to the Pirates at the close of the elimination round, sending the Red Lions to the step-ladder semifinals where they won’t enjoy any playoff incentive for the first time in the last 12 years.
But San Beda made the most out of its near three-week respite and rediscovered its genuine identity that started with a solid 76-71 triumph over erstwhile resurgent host San Sebastian in their knockout battle last Nov. 7, earning it the right to face – and get back – at outright finalist Lyceum in a best-of-three titular showdown.
The Red Lions, mainly behind Bolick’s steely nerves and Tankoua’s newfound dominance, took the opener, 94-87, last week then duplicated their fine performance against a befuddled Pirates crew down the stretch with a 92-82 victory in Game 2.
Much like with how he won his first two crowns with the Red Lions in 2013 and 2014, Fernandez simply utilized a proven formula. “We just have to go back to basics: Make stops on defense, convert it on offense,” he said.
