A Valenzona comes into his own
by rick olivares
Raymond Valenzona took a knee as he watched his young Staglets team battle down the wire with the FEU-FERN Baby Tamaraws. His squad eventually eked out a win but it didn’t exactly leave him brimming with glee for he just knocked out his alma mater in the quarterfinals of the FilOil Badolato Cup.
Valenzona played the two-guard spot for the Baby Tams in the early 90’s alongside Joko Diaz. When he moved up to the senior squad, his teammates were Celino Cruz and Ronald Magtulis and they won a UAAP title before De La Salle went on a four-peat of their own.
Never did Valenzona think that he’d get into coaching. He played in the PABL where he hoped he’d get drafted in the PBA. However, the head coaching job for the Stags opened up and upon the prodding of his father – coaching great Turo Valenzona – Raymond relented. “Akala ko sandali lang ‘to. Temporary kung baga. But eto na. Propesyon na. Lahat ng natutunan ko sa mga naging coach ko eh naghanap rin ako ng sariling diskarte.”
Raymond knows that in any discussion about coaching his father’s name will always crop up. “Ako hindi ako nagsasawa marinig yung comparisons,” he related. “Grabe in naman yung na-achieve niya. Sana ako rin makarating doon. Sana.”
Perhaps he felt the need to underscore the validity of his profession, Valenzona noted that some of the players he went up against – Sandy Arespacochaga of Ateneo and Mon Jose of La Salle to name a few – have also gone into the coaching profession. “Ganyan talaga kapag mahal mo yung laro. Gusto mo ma-involve kung saan man kesyo sa pag-coach, pag-manage, o kaya tournament organizer.”
The task of building a title team was easy. He recruited those that San Beda didn’t get. After all, there are more than enough blue chip players to go around – they aren’t just hyped up.
And he won with some of talented players who would go on to star for other colleges – Eric Salamat, Paul Lee, Raphy Reyes, Argel Mendoza, Ryan Buenafe, Arvie and Mark Bringas, Almond Vosotros, and Yutien Andrada to name but a few.
Has he ever been under pressure to make his players move up to the senior Stags team?
Not really. “Wala naman kami magagawa kung gusto nila lumipat.” admitted Valenzona. “Syempre yung kumukuha Ateneo at La Salle. Bakit hindi di ba?”
His players, those who are now in the college ranks oft call him for advice. They may be wearing Ateneo blue, La Salle green or UE red but they will always be his Staglets. Valenzona confesses that they call to ask for advice on their careers or to share what’s been going on with them. The coach wouldn’t have it any other way. His players may be scattered around the metropolis but Valenzona makes it a point to check on the box scores on how many Salamat scored, how many blocks Andrada got and so forth. “Kasanayan,” he admitted. But of all the hoopsters who have played for him, the one he singles out as the best of them all is Ryan Clarence Buenafe.
“Iba yung basketball IQ niya,” he gushed. “Ibang klase.”
“Si Ryan dapat alam mo kung paano kausapin or gamitin. Ayaw niya mag-practice. Tatamad-tamad yan. Kasi yung laro madali lang sa kanya. Pag-game na, alam mo na ready na siya. Kaya niyang patayin yung kalaban sa iba’t-ibang paraan.”
There are no Buenafes in his Staglets team this year. But what his young bucks do have is the imposing forward-guard tandem of Gino Jumao-as and Ram Pante. The two have already drawn interest from other schools.
Right now, Valenzona cannot worry about that. There’s the Fil Oil tourney to finish and the NCAA season is just around the corner.
Not only has he been bitten by the coaching bug but he’s also hooked on winning. “Syempre hindi tayo nagsasawa sa championship. Malaking tulong kasi ngayon assistant ako sa Excelroof (to Ato Agustin) at medyo madali mag-recruit. Lahat gusto maglaro para sa ‘yo.”
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