By Jerome Lagunzad
Beleaguered University of Santo Tomas coach Rodil “Boy” Sablan knows that the pressure – and online bashing – continues to mount on him as the Growling Tigers move closer towards ignominy in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament.
So it didn’t came as a big surprise to him when his family, along with his close friends, urged him to step down from his post, primarily to give themselves some sense of peaceful mind.
“Naaapektuhan na rin kasi sila, lalo na ‘yung mga anak ko,” Sablan told Bulletin-Tempo in a phone interview yesterday. “May time nga rin na gusto na nilang itigil ko na. Para matigil na daw ‘yung pangba-bash at magkaroon kaming lahat ng peace of mind.”
A devout Christian for nearly two decades, Sablan isn’t one to shy away from the daunting challenge, confident he has already won bigger battles before.
“Matibay na ako,” he said, keeping himself positive that he’s bound to see the rainbow after braving the biggest storm in his coaching career right now.
“Marami na rin akong pagsubok na pinagdaanan na mas matindi pa dito. Kaya alam ko kakayanin ko ‘to.”
Sablan, however, knows it won’t take himself alone to deal with the alarming skid of the Growling Tigers, who came up empty-handed after their first 12 games so far and remained stuck at the bottom of the eight-team field.
UST is also on the verge of suffering the same debacle endured by University of the Philippines back in 2010 when the Fighting Maroons, then handled by Aboy Castro and Boyet Fernandez, dropped all of their 14 matches in the eliminations.
Sablan is hoping the recent pep talk given by UST Alumni Association Henry Tenedero to the Growling Tigers will boost their shattered morale going to their last two matches, starting against the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday.
“Sabi ni Mr. Tenedero sa amin, ‘There is winning in losing,’” shared Sablan. “Napakaganda rin talaga ng mga sinabi niya. Talagang nakaka-boost ng morale kasi despite what we’ve been going through, may mga taong katulad niya na patuloy pa rin ang suporta sa amin. Kasi ‘yun talaga ang kailangan na kailangan namin ngayon.”
Whether Sablan has that same level of trust and confidence from UST team management isn’t clear at the moment. But that’s the least of his concerns right now.
“Basta kami ng mga assistants ko, tuluy-tuloy lang ang pagta-trabaho para ma-sustain ‘yung rebuilding process na sinimulan namin in June of 2016,” he said.
“Overall, ‘yung rebuilding process, nagagawa naman namin, lalo ‘yung sistema. Kaso ‘yung experience and exposure ng mga players kulang pa talaga.”
While top gun Marvin Lee and big man Jeepy Faundo have enough championship experience, the Tigers apparently still lack that steady poise and composure down the stretch, often leading to painful meltdown in closing minutes.
