The challenges of Vergel Meneses and JRU

The challenges of Vergel Meneses and JRU

by rick olivares

At the end of a 57-55 nail-biting win over Emilio Aguinaldo College, Jose Rizal University head coach Vergel Meneses heaved a sigh of relief while one of his veteran players, Jed Mendoza, let loose his tears.

EAC was favored to win, but an early lead allowed JRU a small level of comfort if not a buffer as the Generals made one last late charge that fell short when their center Laminou Hamadou botched a poor entry pass and was blocked by the Heavy Bombers Jun Silvarez.

Heading into the Friday, August 17 match, JRU was winless in seven starts. The win over EAC coupled with a bonus as an earlier loss was reverted when San Sebastian College forfeited a win due to a violation in player eligibility gave JRU two wins in one day prompting Meneses to jokingly wonder if Christmas had come in August.

After the Heavy Bombers floundered in the pre-season (they went 0-9 in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup), Meneses tempered management’s expectations. “Ma-suwerte kung manalo tayo ng dalawa,” he remembered telling JRU’s ManCom representative, Paul Supan right before NCAA Season 94 tipped off. “Hindi naman ako naniniwala na bobolahin ko ang management to say good things,” bared Meneses. “Rebuilding year ito after losing many veterans. We have to accept that there will be seasons like this and hope we can do better next year.”

Sometimes, it is hard to believe that Vergel Meneses is on his ninth year as head coach of the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers.

“Kahit ako nagugulat,” laughed the man who was called the Aerial Voyager for his ability to float in the air with the greatest of ease for a scintillating drive or a death-defying slam dunk his PBA career that when it was over, he was named as one of the game’s greatest.

“One more year, isang dekada na ako sa alma mater ko.”

There have been incredible highs and low moments. His Heavy Bombers have one more match left in the first round – against two-time defending champions, San Beda. “Let us enjoy this moment; this win,” he said. “Bukas ko na iisipin yung San Beda. Malay mo – maka-tsamba. Bilog ang bola.”

It has been trying. He took the coaching job with a lot of boyish charm and with a dash of hope. He at times looked lost and would turn around to look at his mentor, Derrick Pumaren, then the team consultant, for answers and solutions. Meneses is no longer that kind of coach. He has grown and better understood the game. Not to mention his players.

The game was easy for him. He parlayed stardom with the then Jose Rizal College Heavy Bombers into a storied PBA career. It was an adjustment from player to coach. He found it difficult to rein in his temper when players couldn’t execute what came naturally for him. “Nung una, madaling maubos yung pasensiya ko,” he admitted. Three years ago, naisip ko na, ‘tama na ‘to’ and maybe coaching is not for me. But I am not one to back out from challenges. Alma mater ko to. Dito ako nakilala bilang player. Gusto ko naman ma-turn around yung programa namin.”

In fact, when Meneses played for JRC, he was a one-man team. The powers then were Letran (which had Dong Libed, Art Ayson, Tino Pinat, and Jing Ruiz), and San Sebastian (that had a line-up which all went to the PBA). “Ang difference then was players did not play for allowances, or what benefits others give today. They played because they loved the game and they played for school pride.”

JRU has plenty of challenges. They aren’t a top destination for most blue chippers. They don’t even have the machinery to compete for top recruits. In fact, they even have trouble holding on to their high school stars such as Keith Agovida (Arellano University), Joshua Saret (UP), and Jeepy Faundo (UST) to name a few who left the Mandaluyong-based school.

“May suwerte rin naman kami,” he said whiling naming players like Jeckster Apinan, Byron Villarias, Teytey Teodoro, and Paolo Pontejos who starred for JRU and are currently making names for themselves in the PBA, D-League, and the MPBL.

“I accept the challenge of building my school into a winner,” said Meneses. “But we also have to accept yung difficulties ng challenges and admit to ourselves that work needs to be done. We don’t have money so we work with what we have. Basta naman lumalaban, happy kami. Siyempre we want to win, but we also have to be realistic. We are in a rebuilding phase. We’re developing the skills of the players, working on team chemistry, and looking for players who will help us compete for the coming years.”

As of today with a 2-6 record, anything else after this is gravy. “You know I like challenges,” summed up Meneses. “We will try to player better and finish stronger this second round.”