By Jerome Lagunzad
Disappointed with Blackwater’s alarming 0-3 start in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Elite management is set to make some “drastic changes” in earnest, with former assistant Bong Ramos taking over the coaching reins from head coach Leo Isaac.
The Elite, who made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in last season’s Governors Cup, have yet to break the ice after three tries in a week’s span and lost by an average margin of 17.3 points, capped by a 93-74 setback against the Alaska Aces last Sunday.
Those string of tough losses could cost Isaac his coaching gig, which will be inherited by Ramos, 57, a former PBA tactician himself who served as one of his deputies since for almost two years before he plied his wares anew in the Indonesia Basketball League last September.
According to an ever-reliable source, Isaac, 57, will still call the shots for the Elite in their showdown with the GlobalPort Batang Pier tomorrow at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.
But the former Barangay Ginebra standout will be eventually named as the team’s consultant once Ramos formally takes over the coaching post during the team’s 10-day break in the mid-season tournament.
“They are making these drastic changes because they want Blackwater to be a perennial contender. But as things stand right now, they maybe even headed for an early exit again,” said the source.
According to the same source, Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy and team governor Silliman Sy already sat down with Ramos last Friday to formally offer him the coaching post which Isaac held since the Elite entered the pro league in 2014.
Ramos, who handled defunct PBA teams FedEx Express and Barako Bull before, returned to the country last week and spent a well-deserved vacation with his family in Baler, Aurora before he met with top Elite officials.
