Six degrees of Baby Dalupan

This appears in the Monday, October 26, 2015 edition of the Business Mirror.

Six Degrees of Baby Dalupan

by rick olivares

Last Monday, October 19, 2015, some 200 people gathered on a stormy night at the Ateneo Grade School in Quezon City to celebrate the 92nd birthday of Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan as well as the launch of a book about his storied career as an athlete and coach.

Looking around the basketball glitterati, I could help but notice how many of their distinguished careers are intertwined with the Maestro’s.

Here are a list of players who played under Dalupan and went on to become head coaches in their own right and who have won championships. I might have missed some folks but here are the more prominent people I know.

UE Warriors

Nat Canson - Played for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets before going to going to UE for college. Canson later coached Sta. Lucia in the amateur and professional ranks.

Robert Jaworski - Coached Ginerba to several PBA titles. Son Dudut later played for Dalupan in Ateneo.

Jimmy Mariano - Coached UE, PCU, and Presto. He asked Dalupan to join him as a consultant with Great Taste then gave way to his mentor who led the Coffeemakers to four consecutive championships. Mariano later returned to the helm for that 1990 title with Presto as GT was renamed.

Roehl Nadurata - Won two titles with UE (Allan Caidic and Jerry Codinera) and served as a longtime assistant to Yeng Guiao up to his death. Nadurata played a tough brand of basketball. How much of that rubbed off on Guiao? But Guiao has repeatedly said that Dalupan has been an influence on his coaching.

Pilo Pumaren - Coached UE and La Salle to titles and his offspring — Derrick, Franz, and Dindo have all become coaches; two of whom have won amateur and professional championships). He later served as an assistant to Norman Black during their San Miguel Beermen’s storied heyday.

Ateneo Blue Eagles

Sandy Arespacochaga - Coached Ateneo. Has been an assistant on the Blue Eagle champion teams of 2002, 2008-12 and is an assistant to Bo Perasol.

Fritz Gaston - Won titles as a player for Ateneo and U-Tex. Coached Ateneo to the 1988 UAAP championship.

Mark Molina - Coached Ateneo. Currently Athletic Director of FEU.

Chito Narvasa - coached Ateneo, Purefoods, and Shell. Head of BCAP and current Commissioner of the PBA. 

Crispa Redmanizers

Bogs Adornado - Coached Alaska, Crispa in the PBL, as well as Adamson. Was an assistant coach with the Ateneo Blue Eagles champion team of 2002.

Cris Calilan - Coached Ateneo and Purefoods in the pros. Won a title with Ateneo.

Philip Cezar - Presently coaching PSBA. 

Atoy Co - Presently coaching Mapua. 

Bai Cristobal - Coached San Sebastian. Currently the Commissioner of the NCAA.

Great Taste Coffeemakers

Joel Banal - Coached Mapua to a pair of titles and also won championships with Ateneo and Talk ’N Text. Once said that Dalupan was his favorite coach in basketball.  

Norman Black - Coached San Miguel, Pop Cola, Sta. Lucia, Talk ’N Text, and Meralco, has a five-peat with Ateneo

Fritz Gaston - Ended his pro career back with his college coach.

Pido Jarencio - Coached UST to the 2006 UAAP title and is currently on his second tour of duty with GlobalPort in the PBA.

Purefoods Hotdogs

Elmer Cabahug - Coached the University of Visayas to 9 CESAFI championships including a three-peat with Greg Slaughter before he transferred to Ateneo. Cabahug’s assistant is also former Purefoods and Dalupan player Al Solis. Elmer’s son, Mikey, used to play for Ateneo Team B.

Glenn Capacio - Coached FEU. Currently an assistant with Letran in the NCAA.

Jerry Codinera - Coached UE and is now with Arellano University who he led to a NCAA Finals appearance in 2014.

Pido Jarencio - See above

Dindo Pumaren - Coached UE and La Salle. Now with UE as an assistant to older brother, Derrick.

Now for the Ateneo faihtful, if you look at the every single Blue Eagles championship in the UAAP thus far, they were all helmed by former Dalupan players:

Cris Calilan - 1987

Fritz Gaston - 1988

Joel Banal - 2002

Norman Black - 2008-12

What the Maestro was unable to give to his alma mater as a player he gave as a head coach when led Ateneo to back-to-back titles in 1975 and 76 and by influencing many of his former players.

When I told Coach Baby about my findings during his 92nd birthday celebration, he deflected any praise. “I have the benefit of coaching good people and good players. I am blessed.”

So have many others with his influence.



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Check out the newly released book on Baby Dalupan that I helped write (four chapters -- his early years in Ateneo, his triumphant return to Ateneo, the Crispa dynasty, and the Great Taste Coffeemakers).

Click on the link http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2015/10/baby-dalupan-book-out-on-coachs-92nd.html for the piece on the book and how and where you may purchase it.