Former Growling Tiger Bal David rendered his resignation as the team’s head coach after a botched UAAP season.
After just one season in the UAAP and barely six months in with the UST Growling Tigers, Bal “The Flash” David has stepped down as the head coach for the men’s basketball team.
The Varsitarian, the official student publication of the University of Santo Tomas, said after finding themselves at the bottom of the UAAP ranking, David decided to part ways with the school on January 26.
Meanwhile, assistant coach Rodney Santos will stay as part of the coaching staff, reported Sports Inquirer.
Things did not look well for the former Tiger who led the team to win two of four straight UAAP titles in 1994 and 1995, as even before the season started, David was down two players after veteran scorer Sherwin Concepcion got ruled out of the season due to the age limit and rookie guard Kean Baclaan, who had flashes of brilliance in pre-season tournaments, left the team to join the NU Bulldogs.
However, the young team had a promising start after defeating the Jerom Lastimosa-led Adamson Soaring Falcons in their opening match for UAAP S85, but UST finished by dropping all of their games and ended with a 1-13 record.
The former PBA standout took the blame for the Tiger’s poor performance in the UAAP under his helm and added that UST will not undergo a major revamp after the season as he will stick with the “old school” way of recruiting.
With the development, the UST Growling Tigers will have a different coach for the third straight season after Jinino Manansala took charge in S84 after the infamous “Sorsogon Bubble” which resulted in players and current head coach Aldin Ayo’s indefinite ban from the league.
According to Spin.ph, rumors have circulated that a possible return of Pido Jarencio is in the works after stepping down as head coach of NorthPort in the PBA to exchange roles with former team manager Bonnie Tan, there is still no confirmation from any of the involved parties.
Tags: #UAAP, #UST, #coach