Boyet Fernandez slated to be coach, but UP admin says no
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 23 Comments
Inboundpass has learned from two independent and highly reliable sources that there is a move to replace UP head coach Aboy Castro with newly-appointed coaching consultant Boyet Fernandez, but the move has not been approved by the UP College of Human Kinetics.
According to the first source, the change was initiated by higher-ups and already has the approval of the Board of Regents (BOR), the university’s highest decision-making body. The second source confirmed this, and said that Castro was scheduled to meet with the team late this afternoon to formally tell them of the coaching change.
However, the UP CHK, which is the only institution in UP that has the right to hire and fire coaches, has reportedly blocked the coaching change. “As far as they’re concerned, Aboy Castro is still the head coach,” said another source. For their part, team management issued a statement through Bert Mendoza, one of the team managers, saying only that “Boyet Fernandez will coach the next game of UP,” stopping short of saying that Fernandez was in fact the new coach.
Without CHK approval, Fernandez cannot officially assume the role of head coach, although he can still sit on the bench during games in his role as consultant.
This development comes on the heels of the Fighting Maroons’ pair of disappointing losses to open their UAAP campaign. UP was crushed by La Salle by 18 points in the season opener last July 10, and beaten by Adamson last Saturday after getting outscored 13-1 during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter.
With the addition of scorer Mike Silungan and maturation of veteran players like Woody Co and Martin Reyes, UP was expected to be more competitive this season and even seriously challenge for a Final Four slot. Instead, the team has stumbled out of the gates, a development which apparently led to the addition of Fernandez initially as a consultant.
A day before news of Fernandez’s appointment as consultant broke, a third source had told Inboundpass that there was discontentment among some players with Castro, which was why the former Sta. Lucia coach was brought in. But another source said that Castro still had the mandate of majority of the team.
In an interview with this writer shortly after the Maroons’ loss to Adamson, Fernandez clarified that it was Castro himself who sought him out to help the team, and that he did not sign any contract. Still, his mere presence on the UP bench initially fueled speculation that he was being groomed to eventually replace Castro should the Maroons’ campaign falter again this season.
However, Fernandez was also said to be a candidate to coach the new Meralco team in the PBA, which made it unlikely for him to take over the UP coaching chores. PBA rules prohibit head coaches from being a head coach elsewhere.
This writer attempted to reach Castro and assistant coach Potit De Vera for comment, but neither responded to text messages.
Normally, UP coaches are replaced after the playing season is over, and only the CHK can recommend a coaching change to the chancellor of UP Diliman, who in turn has the final say. But apparently some in UP felt the need to make a change immediately and took matters into their own hands.
Nevertheless, this move was highly unusual, and despite the poor performance, it is a fair question to ask what effect changing coaches in midstream will have on the players. “They’re very fragile. If it pushes through, this actually might have a negative effect on them,” said one source close to the team.
Even though the CHK is standing by him, it remains to be seen whether Castro would even want to coach the team again after already being told he was being let go.
Regardless, whoever coaches the team on Thursday against University of Sto. Tomas will be under intense pressure to win. A third loss would greatly jeopardize UP’s chances, since the team still has to play powerhouses Far Eastern University and defending champion Ateneo. This essentially makes the UST game a must-win situation for the embattled Maroons.
If ever his appointment pushes through, Fernandez will become the first non-UP graduate to coach the team since Orly Bauzon in 1995. Ironically, Bauzon was also the last coach to get axed in the middle of the season. He was replaced by Eric Altamirano after a 1-4 start despite a line-up that included Paolo Mendoza, Bryan Gahol, Ogie Gumatay, Dexter Racho and Bing Victoria.
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