New coaches take Filoil Premier Cup spotlight

The Filoil Flying V Premier Cup kicks off its 10th staging next weekend with six new coaches out to steer their respective teams in their respective divisions when the country’s top preseason cage league is fired off April 30 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

In Group A of the seniors division, two mentors will be returning to their alma maters – Edgar Macaraya with San Sebastian College and Bo Perasol with the University of the Philippines. Both played for their respective teams during their collegiate playing years with Macaraya part of the champion Stags teams of the 1980s that included Paul Alvarez, Eugene Quilban, and Melchor Teves.

Macaraya, who once drilled 14 triples during a game for SSC, also played for Magnolia and Triple V in the now defunct Philippine Amateur Basketball League as well as with Swift’s and Sta. Lucia in the PBA. Most recently, Macaraya piloted the Centro Escolar University Scorpions to three consecutive NAASCU championships from 2013-15. He also piloted the Cafe France Bakers to the D-League Foundation Cup during the 2014-15 season.

Perasol was the head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eagles for three years, finishing with a 27-18 record. He also coached Air21 and Powerade in the PBA, returns to UP to take over from Rensy Bajar who was on board for only one season. Perasol who played for the Fighting Maroons from 1990-94 has the distinction of being only one of the two coaches, the other being Joe Lipa, to call the shots for both Ateneo and UP.

Over at Group B, Franz Pumaren takes over the Adamson Falcons, inheriting a talented but young squad from interim head coach Mike Fermin. Pumaren, who won five UAAP titles with La Salle, looks to bring his brand of pressure defense and recruiting savvy to the San Marcelin-based squad.

National team head coach Tab Baldwin takes over from Perasol over at Ateneo where he hopes to bring his wealth of experience and knowledge to a young team that begins the new season without any remnants from its five-peat squads from 2008-12. Kiefer Ravena, Von Pessumal, and Gwyne Capacio were the last holdovers from those champion teams.

De La Salle University will not only finally get to parade much ballyhooed African Ben Mbala but also a new coach in Aldin Ayo who led Letran to a stirring NCAA championship last season over six-peat seeking San Beda. Ayo will also be the first non-La Salle alumnus to coach the team since Pilo Pumaren left UE for Taft in the early 1980s. He also won a championship while playing for Letran.