THREE MONTHS into his stint as the new head coach of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, veteran tactician Jun Noel gave his initial assessment of the squad he is trying to bring back to elite status in the next Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) season.
“They’re growing,” said Noel in an interview immediately following a 85-79 win over the University of San Carlos in the Sinulog Cup collegiate basketball tournament last Monday evening at the Cebu Coliseum.
Noel, who made a name for himself manning the sidelines for the Negros Slashers in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association, Hapee Toothpaste in the Philippine Basketball League and the Misamis Oriental Meteors in the Liga Pilipinas, was tapped to take over the team late last year, replacing long-time head coach Edito Salacot.
According to Noel, they are taking baby steps in a rebuilding process that has seen 10 rookies don the Jaguars jersey in the Sinulog Cup.
“I’m still instilling my system and the most important factors of my system are discipline and cohesiveness on both offense and defense,” said the soft-spoken coach.
However, the thing that Noel said he was most surprised about was the play of new import Quentin Luzoladio, who he said is “very coachable.”/Correspondent Jonas Panerio
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