Recruitment rears ugly head again
The report was just a bit implausible, but at the same time, it could not be ignored.
As the account goes, National University Bulldogs coach Eric Altamirano had taken an interest in this player who had just graduated from a high school that had recently won a championship.
Aware that there were other teams in the UAAP and NCAA which were just as interested in acquiring the services of the young lad for collegiate basketball, Eric moved fast and immediately touched base with the boy’s father, who acts as his manager.
It’s not clear if the two parties ever got to sit down on the negotiating table, but from what the Inquirer gathered, the father submitted a piece of document to the National University athletic office, containing a list of what he (the father) was asking for if his son were to play for the Bulldogs.
Among others, the list reportedly included a house and lot, a sports utility vehicle and a scholarship not only for the player but also for his four siblings, all the way to the masteral level.
Unbelievable! I just had to see for myself if this document truly exists.
* * *
All afternoon long yesterday, we tried to get in touch with coach Altamirano, but he could not be reached.
We called NU athletic director Junel Baculi instead.
Junel confirmed there had been a meeting between Coach Eric and the player’s father, but he was not in the meeting.
“Eric just gave me an account of what transpired in that meeting,” Junel said. “Yes the father was asking for the moon and stars. And to think that his boy is only going to play in the college level. We just scrapped the boy off our list of prospects and thought no more about him.”
“Hindi namin pinapatulan ang mga ganyan (We don’t give those propositions a second look). Good luck to him.”
* * *
HOOPVINE: Ronnie Dizer, dean of UP’s college of Human Kinetics, announced the other day the appointment of Rey Madrid as the head coach of the UP Maroons, his personal choice from seven other candidates that reportedly include Allan Gregorio, NLEX team consultant and UPIS coach; Robert Sison, Big Chill coach; Paolo Mendoza, Derulo coach; Glenn Capacio, Globalport assistant coach; Jojo Villa, former UP assistant coach; Loreto Tolentino, former PCU coach; and Jobe Nkemakolam, former Ateneo player. Dizer told Inquirer scribe Jasmine Payo that he does not expect the UP Maroons to be competitive until after two to three years. In other words, he expects Madrid to carry on with the Maroons’ losing tradition. Nobody loves a loser, Mr. Dizer! … Unable to attend the couple’s wedding reception, the Ateneo volleyball team hosted a dinner for newlyweds Lino Cayetano and volleybelle Fille Cainglet to make up. Lino and Fille recently tied the knot, reportedly in Cebu.
