This appears on philstar.com
The uphill climb of LA
Mumar and the LPU Junior Pirates
by rick olivares
With 1:42 left to play in the third period, Lyceum of
the Philippines University Junior Pirate point guard Jun Cecilio swiped the
ball away from National University’s Mark Ferraras. With two Bulldogs closing
down the shaded lane for any possible drives to the basket, Cecilio stopped on
a dime and threw up a triple from the top of the arc.
Swish.
Now, the score was at 66-35… for NU that would score
four more points to close out period scoring at 70-35.
Over that the LPU huddle, Junior Pirates coach LA Mumar
looked his players in the eye and said, “Guys. Don’t look at the score. Our
goal is to improve. The last time we faced the guys they beat us by a hundred.
Now 31 lang lamang nila. We outscored them 18-15 in the third period. So play
positive. The goal is to improve all the time.”
LPU would outscore NU (that was playing its third
team) once more in the final period, 18-16, to peg the final score at 86-53.
The Pirates topped Group F of the National Basketball
Training Center tournament’s first round with two wins out of two matches
against schools from Pampanga and Cagayan De Oro. In the second round, the
Junior Pirates crashed out with a 0-2 record.
Mumar gathered his crestfallen squad outside one of
the exits of the Ynares Arena in Pasig for their final pep talk of a long
season. They snapped their 59-game losing streak in the NCAA Juniors tournament
with a 59-57 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College on the 25th of July
2014. They went on to win three more games to end NCAA Season 90 with a 4-14
record that saw them climb from dead last to seventh in the 10-team field.
In the season-ending 2014-15 NBTC tournament, they
tasted another high by winning its two assignments in the first round only to
be sent packing in the second day. Even if the team raised their win total for
the year getting bowled over in the NBTC still hurt.
Mumar’s graduating players couldn’t hold back their
tears and sobs. Mumar offered words of solace but who knew if they found their
mark? Clearly, no one was inured to the losing. To the players, it’s more than
a game --- it’s playing for a potential college scholarship. Would anyone
consider taking any of these kids given their lack of talent and skill?
“My power forward is 5’8” and the point guards we go
up against stand 5’9” or taller so you can see our disadvantages,” later said
Mumar of his squad.
LA knows all to well what it’s like to struggle to
get into the win column. After all, he played for Ateneo during the bleak 1990s
when they battled not for a Final Four slot but to stay out of the cellar
So why did Mumar place himself in another position
for self-flagellation with LPU when he was fine coaching National University’s
Team B that had Alfred Aroga, Pao Javelona and others waiting to move up to
Team A? The LPU team that he inherited included some of the players who
absorbed a 157-point and a 135-point drubbing by San Beda several years ago.
Said one San Beda coach who was a part of those
100-plus beatdowns, “Syempre, nahihiya na rin kami sa score. Ayaw din naman
namin silang ganyanin. Pero ano gagawin namin? Hindi na kami titira? Pagbigyan
namin sila maka-layup? Mahirap. Pero trabaho lang.”
Mumar, the son of former PBA player Larry as well as
the grandson of college ball legend, Lauro “The Fox” isn’t the patron saint of
lost causes. Far from it. “For sure it is a challenge,” he admitted when he
first took on the job. “I had to pray over the decision to take the job. I
researched about the team and found out that they lost by an average of 67
points! The team I was to inherit lost four of its five starters. If I was to
come in I couldn’t recruit because it was already late so you play who you
have. To add more players, I had no choice but to go to the inter-barangay
tournaments in Cavite. Mga nakuha ko mga raw; sobrang raw; unpolished. I spoke
about this extensively with my wife. But you know the saying, ‘When you’re
down, the only place you can go, is up.’ So that was part of the challenge. And
if you can help kids find their place in the world that is the better reward or
accomplishment.”
The immediate goals for Mumar were perhaps, the most
doable not to mention realistic -- not to lose by more than 20 points and to
give the players confidence.
In this past NCAA season, the Junior Pirates achieved
a modicum of success as eight of their loses were in single digits. “However,”
admitted Mumar, “the most difficult of them all as it is hard to instill
confidence when you’re getting blown out by a hundred.”
Mumar was able to recruit some players but they could
suit up for NCAA Season 90 as they served their residency. “It’s part of the
process,” he reminded his team in that post-NBTC ouster huddle. “I know it
sounds weird but what you have accomplished will pave the way for LPU to get
better in years to come.”
NU assistant coach Chico Manabat empathized with LPU.
After all, his NU teams were the UAAP doormats not too long ago. Watching the
Bullpups decimate the Junior Pirates even while playing with their scrubs, he
thought, “Minsan wala ka na masasabi. Sana makahanap din sila ng suporta at
success.”
The tears streamed down while the sobs continued. Mumar’s
voice cracked as he too fought back the tears. He hugged his graduating players
tightly saying nothing more.
“I won a championship when I was in the Juniors (with
Ateneo with Rainier Sison, Epok Quimpo, Sonny Tadeo, and Ryan Pamintuan among
others). That was a fantastic feeling,” reflected Mumar later. “When I won my
first game with LPU (where they snapped the 59-match losing streak) --- to be
honest… it felt just a little better than my juniors title with the Blue
Eaglets. When I won with the Juniors with Ateneo, we were the favored team.
With these kids with LPU? Ginagawa kami na pag-pad ng statistics ng mga
kalaban.”
“When the time comes and we compete in the games that
will be a great accomplishment. And these boys will have started it all.”
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