Ron Jacobs
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| Date of birth | December 27, 1942 (age 64) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sport | Basketball | |
| Title | Head coach | |
| Awards | Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year 1980 | |
| Coaching positions | ||
Ron Jacobs (born December 27, 1942 in Marion, North Carolina, United States) was head coach of the men's basketball team at the Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.[1] After turning aroung the program around in just a season from a lowly 5-21 pushover to a legitimate contender, Jacobs was invited to coach the Philippine team by then Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr..
Philippine basketball got a major boost when Jacobs arrived. He brought the Philippines back to prominence and was the last head coach of the Philippine National Basketball team to have a winning record against the Chinese National Basketball team.
As a basketball coach, Jacobs revolutionized the way the game is played in the Philippines. He showed how to win with science, hard work, team play and discipline. He raised the level of technology in playing the game and turned every contest into a learning experience. For over two decades, Philippine basketball was blessed by his influential presence, his genius and passion for the game blazed a trail for others to follow.
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[edit] Loyola Marymount
Ron Jacobs was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year for piloting the Loyola Marymount's basketball varsity to the NCAA Tournament in 1980. He had turned the program around in just a season from a lowly 5-21 pushover to a legitimate contender.
Jacobs became an overnight hero at the Loyola campus in Los Angeles. Jacobs’ star shone so brightly that there emerged a popular clamor for him to take over as Loyola athletic director, a turn of events that didn’t sit well with some in the school’s Board of Trustees.
Jacobs eventually left Loyola, exasperated by the politics that smeared his name.[2]
[edit] Going to the Philippines
As Jacobs reassessed his future upon leaving Loyola Marymount's, an invitation to visit Manila fell on his laps. Ambassador Eduardo (Danding) Cojuangco, then project director for basketball appointed by Ferdinand Marcos, sent an emissary to the US to look for an American coach who could bring life back to the sport here. The emissary was the late Basketball Association of the Philippines secretary-general Honesto Mayoralgo, an Ateneo graduate who tapped his contacts in Jesuit schools to ask around for recommendations. Mayoralgo was pointed at Jacobs’ direction.
Jacobs had nothing to lose in accepting the free round-trip ticket to Manila. He took it as an opportunity to get away from campus politics and enjoy a brief vacation. When the plane was about to land on the Manila runway, Jacobs looked out the window and saw ricefields, carabaos, thatched roofs and goats. It was a strange portrait of what was supposed to be a tropical paradise.
From the airport, Jacobs was whisked to a Makati office where he was introduced to Cojuangco. Jacobs had absolutely no idea of what was in store. He didn’t know if Filipinos even played basketball. And he surely had never met anyone quite like Mr. Cojuangco.
When he met Mr. Cojuangco, Jacobs knew this was no ordinary man. They hit it off and talked about a vision for basketball. They shared a common view of sports as a source of national pride and a unifying factor to galvanize a fragmented society. They shook hands and began an enduring relationship that today, remains as strong as ever.
Jacobs came to the Philippines back in 1980 along with another NCAA coach Ben Lindsey. Danding Cojuangco was to choose who among the two topnotch coaches that he would hire to run the Philippine basketball state of affairs here. The jockeying for the position intensified deeply that the two coaches, once good friends, eventually ended up bitter at each other. Jacobs allegedly threw negative statements behind Lindsey's back and this worked for him, as he eventually earned Cojuangco's job for the coveted and lucrative position (Cojuangco was willing to give any amount just to get any of the two coaches). Lindsey left the Philippines in a huff, fueling speculations, and Jacobs stayed behind. His first job was to improve the quality of basketball in the country. There was no problem with politics - Cojuangco has effectively sidelined then FIBA and BAP President Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat and was rendered inutile. [3]
Jacobs fell in love with the Philippines. He staked his future there and found himself slowly breaking away from the American way of life.
[edit] Coaching Career in the Philippines
So it was Jacobs' job to produce results - and since Cojuangco wasn't a patient man, he had to come up with these immediately.
His blueprint was to upgrade the skills of the players and knowledge of the coaches. After watching some Philippine Basketball Association games that year, he felt that RP basketball has lagged behind, as coaches were intent on simply using the old school type of basketball which was run-and-gun, no defense, no plays, dependent on individual skills, lack of screens and movement, etc. ergo, he came up with an idea of bringing in American collegiate players, have them naturalized as Filipinos, and let these players pass the technology to the Filipino cagers. Hence, the 8 American players (Steve Schall, Steve Lingerfelter, Bruce Webster, Willie Polk, Eddie Joe Chavez, Jeff Moore, Dennis Still and Michael Antoine) were joined by two Filipino-Americans (Willie Pearson and Ricky Brown) and two local players (both from San Beda - JB Yango and Frankie Lim).
This team was sent to the 1981 William Jones Cup tournament where they beat a solid American team made up of US NCAA Division I collegiate players by more than 20 points in the finals and an average winning margin of more than 30 points against the others.
The problem was the backlash. No Filipino could accept the victory as the Americans were the ones responsible for the victory, with Yango and Lim being fielded sparingly. The starting unit for that team included the 7'0 Steve Schall, the 6'8 Dennis Still, the 6'3 Jeff Moore, the 6'1 Eddie Joe Chavez and the 6'0 Ricky Brown. Steve Lingerfelter, at 6'9, was Schall's backup at the slot while Willie Pearson similarly languished at the bench. Jacobs eventually threw this program out of the window when Cojuangco feared the non-acceptance of the Filipinos.
His second project was retaining the gold medal in the 1981 SEA Games. But noting the lack of competition, Jacobs decided to field Pilo Pumaren instead as coach and gave him enough leeway to run the team. This 1981 team was made up mostly of MICAA and National Seniors players like Ricky Relosa, Bokyo Lauchengco, Itoy Esguerra, Ed Cordero, among others. The gold medal was won with Marcos himself watching at the Big Dome, witnessing the solid kick made by Itoy Esguerra in the face of a Malaysian opponent in the finals. A near brawl ensued but no one can deny the RP team's victory in that game.
With that done with, Jacobs had a more difficult job. That was to regain the Asian Youth title lost in 1980 from China - a bitter setback since the PHilippines won the first 5 stagings of the tournament. That 1980 team included players like Zaldy Latoza, Elpidio Villamin, Bay Cristobal, Rey Lazaro among others and handled by Turo Valenzona. Jacobs for the first time, will be handling a Philippine national team made up of all-Pinoy players.
Cojuangco didn't want to get players from the MICAA and National Seniors since he didn't have control over these tournaments yet. Hence, Jacobs decided to get players mostly from La Salle - the school that Cojuangco patronized. This move by Jacobs drew raised eyebrows from the basketball circle as after all, Jacobs was closely associated with then La Salle coach Filo Pumaren. Jacobs handpicked less talented, less athletic and unknown players in the collegiate ranks like La Salle players Jun Tan, Jong Uichico, Teddy Alfarero, Derek Pumaren, Rey Cuenco of Arellano and the fat and flat-footed Alfie Almario. The only deserving players in Jacobs list as far as our basketball leaders then were concerned are Hector Calma of Adamson, Louie Brill and Elmer Reyes of San Beda. It was contended that the team Jacobs formed is weak as dominating collegiate players like Joey Loyzaga, Terry Saldana, Sonny Cabatu were left out.
Jacobs proved his critics wrong. RP Youth team mangled the opposition heading towards the semifinals where they were to meet South Korea. China was to go up against Japan in the other semis. This was the game Jacobs feared the most, especially since South Korea was bannering a very young rookie named Hur Jae. A mini-brawl erupted in that game against South Korea but it didn't go beyond the usual taunts and threats. We won the game by 3 points, 77-74, to earn the right to meet China in the finals. In the finals, with Alfie Almario pulverizing the opposition with timely sniping from the outside, Hector Calma's masterful quarterbacking, and Teddy Alfarero's matching up well against China's star forward Wang Libin, the Philippines won the game 74-63 with Imelda Marcos and an an overflow crowd of 25,000 in the Araneta Coliseum witnessing the game. However, the appreaciation and the heart of the Filipino fans fell on Calma and Almario. During the awarding ceremony, Imelda Marcos went to Calma and Almario and gave both players a hug with kisses on both sides of cheeks that drew an emotional applause from the crowd. As the happy ceremony were going on, on the sideline was Jacobs just beaming with humble pride. Three of the players on that title team are now Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) coaches — Ginebra San Miguel’s Joseph Uichico, Talk ‘N’ Text’s Derick Pumaren and Welcoat’s Leo Austria.
But a reason why fans didn't accept this victory that much was because the team fielded wasn't legitimate to begin with. The Asian Youth were only for players who were 19 years old and below - ALL the PLAYERS were above 19 already by that time - no exception. Hector Calma was reportedly a ripe 23 years old already by then. That was the tragedy of this Philippine Youth team, and the other teams before them. No team from 1970 to 1984 fielded in a legitimate lineup, and only when the media reported this in 1987 was the time the Philippines under Joe Lipa decided to field a legitimate Youth team made up of Benjie Paras, Nelson Asaytono, Bong Alvarez, Eric Reyes, Jun Reyes, Bobby Jose among others.
In 1983, Jacobs decided to retain the services of Jeff Moore and Dennis Still, owing to the lack of big men that the country faced. Reading through the FIBA rules where naturalization can be done but only after 3 years of residency, he immediately submitted Moore and Still's application for naturalization. He then sought for a shooter in the States to provide the outside sock and eventually train the likes of budding shooters like Allan Caidic of UE, Pido Jarencio of UST, Jojo Lastimosa of Ateneo, and Ato Agustin of Lyceum. That was how he got Arthur "Chip" Engelland of Duke. Engelland had 3 years to fulfill his naturalization so he would have been eligible to play by 1987 for the national team.
In 1984, the Philippines, under Jacobs, played in the ABC tournament held in Qatar. They won their first three games in the eliminations only to be forfeited because of Engelland, Moore and Still's ineligibility. This raised a howl from the RP team but the protest didn't prosper despite the initial assurance made by the ABC gods that the two would be allowed to play. This raised the suspicion that the ABC heads set up the team to lose via technicality. The team went down 0-3, didn't qualify in the quarterfinals (round of 8) and ended up in the classification round, where they beat the remaining rivals convincingly despite having only 9 players in the team - all locals at that. Hence, they became the only team in the history of the ABC to have won all its games in the tournament but ended up 9th overall.
In the latter part of 1984, the Philippines won the Asian Interclub title to earn the right to play in the World Interclub Championship to be held in Gerona, Spain. Armed with the 3 to-be-naturalized players in Engelland, Moore and Still, the Philippines will be up against three major world rivals - USA representing North America, Brazil representing South America, and Banco Di Roma of Italy for Europe. Brazil was bannered by the De Souza brothers, wily point guard Milton Setrini, and the eminent Oskar Schmidt while Banco Di Roma of Italy had the great Dino Meneghin in their team.
The Philippines lost to the US by a rout in the first game, failing to cope with the solid zone defense employed by the Americans. In the second game, they lost by a solitary point against the Brazilians, 78-77. But in the third game, ready for battle, the SMC team toppled the Italians by more than 10 points to cop third place in this prestigious tournament. Reports from Gerona said that the RP team won the hearts of the Spanish basketball fans as they saw the smallest basketball team in that league (World Interclub) play competitively against those giants from Europe and America. Chalk up another major accomplishment for the fiery American coach and his players.
Ron Jacobs later admitted that he did not instill in his players' minds to give their best for the Interclub Championship hence they treated the tournament as just part of their preparation for the coming Asian Basketball Champinoships.
In 1985, an even bigger victory came courtesy of the William Jones Cup in Taiwan. Ranked 4th overall, the San Miguel team wasn't expected to do well, especially since the Americans were represented by solid NCAA Division I players like Harold Pressley, Joe Wolf, Kenny Gattison, Kevin Henderson, Jay Bilas and Tommy Amaker and coached by Purdue's Gene Keady. Gene Keady was actually fresh from being awarded 1984 NCAA national coach of the year and Big 10 Coach of the year. He was assisted on the bench by Bruce Webber his assistant at Purdue that would later become a decorated coach himself. But Jacobs' boys pulled off one surprise after another as Moore worked like a horse, Engelland was at his pinpoint accuracy best, Calma was at his prime handling the court generalship role, and the tandem of Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic doing wonders both inside and outside. In the finals, the SMB team found itself to be in a dilemma, as center Dennis Still was hobbled by a bum knee while Jeff Moore encountered some back problems. But showing true guts and courage, the two players overcame the odds, and, with Engelland sniping away from the outside with 42 points and Lim, Caidic and Franz Pumaren doing equal damage from the arc, the SMB team won against the Americans in OT, 108-100. Tommy Amaker didn't know what hit him - he was astonished how Calma outran and outfoxed him all throughout the game. It came to a point when the foreign press described Calma as the "point guard whiz" from the Philippines while being astonished by Samboy Lim's high-flying and daredevil ways.
Jacobs in an interview said "I thought the American team that beat us in the Interclub World Tourney was weaker than the American team we beat in the Jones Cup finals". In saying those words, Jacobs meant that they could have won two successive trophies if only they treated the Wolrd Interclub tourney seriously."
With the momentum on their side, they played their last pre-ABC tournament in the PBA, playing in the Reinforced Conference made up of one import with a max height of 6'5 per team. In one semifinals tiff held at the ULTRA, NCC went up against Ginebra in what may be considered as one of the best PBA games of all time. Ginebra lost Robert Jaworski via a busted lip midway in the second quarter on account of a wayward elbow from Moore that forced him to rush to the emergency room of the nearby Medical City in Pasig. Given up for lost, NCC ran roughshod against the Gins minus their leader. But when Jaworski came back to the coliseum with less than 8 minutes left in the 4th canto, the crowd erupted seeing the Big J with a bandage on his upper lip. The Big J entered the game, behind 15 points against the solid NCC team. The crowd was already in a frenzy by then, and every Ginebra shot was punctuated by heavy cheering matched only by every NCC missed shot. The game ended with Ginebra beating NCC and Jacobs shaking his head in disbelief.
However, this didn't stop the Cement Makers in their drive for the championship. Having topped the semifinals round, they earned the first seat in the finals and waited for the winner of the Manila Beer-Ginebra setto to determine their opponents. They dethroned Great Taste Coffee in the semifinals to prevent GTC from a shot for the grandslam. Jacobs secretly longed to have Manila Beer in the finals, knowing fully well how difficult to go up against a Ginebra team with the crowd behind them. Similarly, Jacobs had difficulty finding an antidote to Michael Hackett, unlike Manila Beer's Francois Wise who Still can dominate one-on-one. Manila Beer beat Ginebra in sudden death to earn the right to meet NCC. It was a rout - NCC won via a sweep, 4-0, including a 32 point victory in the last game, 138-106 - regarded as the most lopsided finals ever in PBA history. Ginebra copped 3rd place, beating Great Taste in the battle for 3rd with Michael Hackett scoring two all-time records in two successive games - the first racking up 103 points and the second, caroming 45 boards.
In January, 1986, the ABC tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the Philippines as favorites to win the championship alongside China. In the semifinals, the RP team demolished China to earn the right to meet South Korea in the finals. And with Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic in the scoring end, the RP team finally regained its ABC championship last won in 1973 when the tournament was held here in Manila.
As early as 1985, Jacobs was already mapping out a grand plan to ensure continuity with his system. Knowing fully well that Still and Moore were already in their 30's, he has already eyed Benjie Paras and Alvin Patrimonio to take over the shoes left by Still and Moore. Engelland on the other hand, was relatively younger and was already honing Allan Caidic, Naning Valenciano and Pido Jarencio's shooting skills. But Jacobs had grand plans as well as he was already expecting Jojo Lastimosa to take over the slot to be vacated by Engelland in the future.
Then the Edsa Revolution took place in February 1986 that forced the departure of Cojuangco. Jacobs suddenly found himself without a job as the BAP under Puyat regained control of Philippine basketball fiefdom. Jacobs left for the US but later returned sometime in 1994.
In the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, the RP team (made up of 6 players from the 1994 AFC champion team San Miguel - Caidic, Agustin, Polistico, Teng, Calma and Fernandez), 3 players from Purefoods (Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codinera, Evangelista), 1 player from Alaska (Johnny Abarrientos) and 2 topnotch amateurs (Marlou Aquino and Kenneth Duremdes) and coached by Norman Black, Jacobs was sent by Cojuangco, who by then regained chairmanship of the San Miguel conglomerate, to provide advice to Black. But Jacobs had a rift with Norman Black. In one game in the semifinals, Jacobs and Quinito Henson almost came to blows with Norman Black as the latter despised the two's incessant interference on his coaching. Eventually, this team ended up 4th place and out of the medal race in the tournament.
Black was then eased out of the SMB bench to give way to Jacobs who handled the reins of the team in 1997. Joining Black out of SMB was Derrick's brother Franz who became loyal to his former coach at SMB. Jacobs handled a moribund San Miguel team that had only Nelson Asaytono as his offensive weapon. In that only season as head coach, Jacobs piloted SMB to two third place finishes - an outstanding feat especially considering the lineup that the Beermen possessed.
In 1998, the BCAP under Chito Narvasa petitioned to the DOLE that Ron Jacobs had no right to coach a PBA team for being a foreigner. The DOLE agreed and Jacobs was "demoted" to consultant position and gave the coaching job to his protege Jong Uichico. A few weeks after, Jacobs was being contemplated upon by then PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino to handle the 1998 Centennial team that will go for the gold in Thailand. Again, the BCAP stepped in and protested Jacobs' pending appointment. Bernardino backed out and instead appointed Alaska coach Tim Cone to handle the reins. Jacobs' loss proved fatal as Tim Cone fell short.
In 2002, Bernardino finally stood his ground and formally appointed Jacobs to handle the national team to play in the Busan Asian Games. Armed with a blueprint designed to earn the gold medal, Jacobs proposed having two national team selections made up of 24 of the most outstanding PBA players to go up against PBA teams with import reinforcements. While many questioned Jacobs' preference to play in the PBA (which in turn will revert to amateur rules during this time), no one doubted what Jacobs had in mind for he was the only one who understood what he was doing. Alas, Jacobs suffered a near-fatal stroke, and the coaching mantle was eventually turned over to Uichico who, prior to Jacobs' stroke, was appointed as Jacobs' chief second and scout. While an exceptional coach himself, Uichico didn't exactly know what Jacobs had in mind, ergo, a 4th place ending in the Asian Games ended up as being the biggest disappointment in RP sports in year 2002.
[edit] Coaching
The teams under Ron Jacobs was founded on a very basic tenet: sound fundamentals. The Philippine team of Ron Jacobs played selflessly and ensured that proper ball rotation, constant motion offense, less dribbling and more passing, movement without the ball are being practiced every single play. It was characteristic to see Calma mapping out the play, Moore moving around constantly, Caidic moving from the strong side to the weak side while using Still's bulky screen, and Lim's neat incursions being practiced everytime. The NCC team was just a marvel to watch because they had very solid fundamentals, were less prone to making errors, and yet, had the heart to go up against the big guys. Allan Caidic would constantly move around to get the open space and use every single pick offered to him. Calma would make his point guard adversary relax only to find the ball getting stolen from him. It was a delight to watch this team - because somehow, while watching, you believe they were capable of beating any other team in the world except those in the NBA.
Jacobs feared the South Koreans more than the Chinese actually because of the Sokors' ability to shoot from the outside with uncanny accuracy. Jacobs is an advocate of the percentage game - he would rather lose to a team that will shoot from the outside than get beaten inside. That was why South Korea, for him, was formidable. He had to design a defensive trap to ensure that the Korean shooters like Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae can be neutralized without sacrificing the defense inside. South Korea was known for its penchant to attack the paint only to feed the ball outside and let the shooter take the shot. Jacobs understood this very well and had to come up with an intricate defensive wall against them.
Jacobs never feared China despite their size. They had big players who were equally mobile and fleet-footed like Song Ligang and Wang Libin (both were exceptional 6'7 forwards) but he always felt that the Chinese outside shooting was suspect and overrated. He utilized the man-zone defense that disabled the Chinese big men but at the same time making sure that the shooters don't gain their confidence during the game. Sure, they had good shooters like Wang Fei, Sun Feng Wu, Sun Jun among others but he never felt intimidated by them, unlike Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae of South Korea. Plus, their point guard, the balding Adiljan, was never known to be a shooter and cannot even shoot straight. Jacobs knew this very well and was never afraid of the Chinese.
Jacobs also was able to solve the man-zone defense that the Chinese implemented against other Asian teams in the ABC. This dreaded man-zone defense was the key to the Chinese' success - and Jacobs knew that if they're able to solve this riddle, they'll be on their way to a win. As a result, he utilized outside shooters like Caidic, Lim, Pumaren and Calma to loosen the tight interior defense inside. On the other hand, Jeff Moore and Dennis Still attacked the defense of Wang Libin and took advantage of Adiljan's inability to hit the outside shot. When everyone thought China was unbeatable, Jacobs showed the blueprint to beat them.
Some of the innovations that Jacobs introduced to Philippine basketball:
- Motion offense. Before, most offenses was centered on players going one on one on isolations with little emphasis on movement. Jacob's introduction of the motion offense introduce more ball movement from teams.
- Strategic use of injury time out. His use of the injury timeout even when there's no player with injury which eventually lead to the PBA's 30 second timeout.
- Improved scouting. He basically improved the way teams scout opposing teams.
- Another Jacobs innovation is the 6 unanswered points rule where he calls a timeout if the opposing team scores 6 unanswered points. That way it stops the opposing team's momentum and helps his team recove
- He also introduced the concept of role players in the PBA. Guys like Tonichi Yturri, Jeffrey Graves, etc. despite their limited skills are able to contribute in a meaningful way as they have defined roles in his teams.
- Strategic implementation of the full court press. He wouldn't apply full court presses all the time unless warranted. This was the same reason why China and South Korea encountered difficulty against his teams, and the same reason why they were competitive going up against the Flying Eagles of the US in the 1985 Jones Cup.
He was actually "obsessed" with man-to-man defense when almost all coaches in the amateurs used the zone. His usual strategy is to use the press whenever the best perimeter defender (usually a SG or SF) shoots free throws. Whether made or not, his teams would immediately go into full court press mode after the free throw by Samboy which would disrupt the play of the opposing team.
It was a dreaded arsenal, and Jacobs exploited this to a hilt by making use of the athleticism of Jeff Moore, the speed and creativity of Samboy Lim, the shot-blocking prowess and rebounding skill of Dennis Still, the cunning ways of Chip Engelland, the outside shooting prowess of Allan Caidic and the overall court generalship ability of Hector Calma to achieve its fruition. The defensive trap was like a 1-2-1-1, with Moore defending the endcourt inbounder. Calma and Engelland were normally the two players harassing the recipients of the inbound pass, Lim at centercourt anticipating the crosscourt passes, and Still at the frontline to ensure last line of defense. This is the same defensive trap laid out by Rick Pitino when he was still coaching for the NY Knicks in the 1987 NBA season when he had players like Pat Ewing, Charles Oakley, Mark Jackson, Charles Smith and Gerald Wilkins.
Before Jacobs' arrival, PBA teams were already implementing the full court press but it wasn't scientific and relied heavily on the one-on-one defensive skills of the locals. Tommy Manotoc, Ed Ocampo and Dante Silverio were acknowledged as the most "scientific" coaches of the 70's but they only did the fullcourt press by going man-to-man.
One thing about Jacobs, he was the type who would stretch the rules to the limit, in an effort to gain whatever advantage - even psychological - just to one-up the opposition. Jacobs hated the fact that Dennis Abbatuan once scored 51 points against his NCC team in the PBA, and he berated his players bigtime for allowing the journeyman to do so much damage against his team. Similarly, Atoy Co was about to score his 10,000th point against his team in one PBA game in 1984. Jacobs was incensed when Co scored 32 points against their team even if NCC won the game by 4 points - because it would mean that their team would be found in the PBA record books as the opponent Co registered his record-feating achievement (the first PBA local to do so). Such was the passion and competitiveness of Jacobs - it was unfortunate though that this was misinterpreted by a lot of fans who got turned off by Jacobs' high-handed ways.
Jacobs and Cojuangco were the first to utilize the FIBA rule regarding naturalization (note that several countries have followed this same route already - from Qatar to Lebanon to Japan to even European countries to this day). The concept was for transfer of technology to happen. Jacobs understood that the bad playing habits of Filipinos were difficult to remove, especially since he saw these very habits happening in the PBA. The only way to train the players with the right and basic fundamentals was to bring in American players and make the Filipinos learn from them. By the end of the 1980s, Jacobs had already eyed Benjie Paras, Alvin Patrimonio and Jojo Lastimosa to take over the roles of Still, Moore and Engelland. The idea was so advanced for its time and that they failed to make Filipinos understand what the plan really meant - which further cemented Jacobs' legacy of stretching the rules to the hilt.
Followers of the game saw more of Jacobs' antics as arrogance on his part rather than competitiveness. But history has judged him well - now, we see a lot of coaches espousing the same principles that he followed to the hilt.
[edit] Coaching tree
Today, several Jacobs disciples are coaching or occupying front office jobs in Philippine basketball.
- Binky Favis - current head coach of the Coca-Cola Tigers
- Eric Altamirano - runs the successful Coach E basketball academy and is in charge of the San Miguel All-Stars project where retired players tour the country in promotional exhibitions.
- Allan Caidic - current team manager of the Coca-Cola Tigers and the former head coach of the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
- Tonichi Yturri - former head coach of the Cebu Gems in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association, the St Benilde Blazers in the NCAA and Harbour Centre in the Philippine Basketball League.
- Hector Calma - current team manager of the San Miguel Beermen
- Samboy Lim - current team manager of the Barangay Ginebra Kings
- Pido Jarencio -- champion coach of the University of Santo Tomas Tigers in the 2006 UAAP
- Jun Tan - head coach in the Cebu ranks and the former of the Granny Goose Tortillos in the Philippine Basketball League.
- Jong Uichico - current head coach of the Barangay Ginebra Kings and led the San Miguel Beermen to six titles from 1999-2005.
[edit] Stroke
On Dec. 22, 2001, Jacobs suffered a stroke while driving home to his Pasig apartment. He had just been renamed national coach and was on the verge of laying the groundwork for the country’s big comeback as an Asian cage power.
Jacobs is now confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak and walk. But his mind is alert. He motions with his fingers and smiles to show his appreciation for those who care. From the moment he suffered the stroke, his companion Menen has not left his side and has been a solid rock for Jacobs in his time of need. Mr. Cojuangco has never left his side too.
[edit] References
| Preceded by First |
NCC Basketball Program Head Coach 1980-1986 |
Succeeded by Disbanded |
| Preceded by Norman Black |
San Miguel Beermen Head Coach 1997-1998 |
Succeeded by Jong Uichico |
| Preceded by Dave Benaderet |
Loyola Marymounth University head basketball coach 1980 |
Succeeded by Ed Goorjian |
