Meralco has five candidate coaches

I WANTED to give myself a pat on the back. The short list of candidates for Meralco head coach which I got from an insider is almost identical to my own short list, which I made known in this column some weeks ago. My unimpeachable source gave me five names: Norman Black, Ryan Gregorio, Frankie Lim, Boyet Fernandez “and even Chot Reyes.” I was almost a hundred percent accurate in my guesswork, except that I missed one name, that of Boyet Fernandez, who has replaced Aboy Castro as head coach of the UP Maroons in the UAAP. The Maroons are being sponsored by Meralco this season. My source said he expects the Meralco team to be presented to the public as soon as the company’s application for membership is formally accepted by the PBA board, which meets on Aug. 10. He said the grand launch will  most likely happen at the end of this month, just before the annual PBA rookie draft. “The Meralco lineup may not yet be complete at this time but for sure the coaching staff will be presented at the launch,” the insider said. * * * Nobody could confirm exactly what  spewed out of Fred Uytengsu’s well-contoured lips close to halftime of last Sunday’s Alaska-Talk ‘N Text game, but photographers within earshot swore  he challenged Texter Mark Yee to a fight. From about three rows up at ringside, a fuming Fred made a dash to the table officials’ row to get his message across to Yee, who intentionally blocked a driving Larry Fonacier with his butt. Larry hit the floor hard, incurring the ire of Fred, who would not let the dirty tactic pass. A player agent said he saw Yee place his forefinger on his lips, as if asking Fred to be silent. If dirty fingers could kill, Fred should be dead by now. He was the target of two machine guns fired by a high ranking official from the opposite camp as he was yelling on the floor. * * * At the close of office hours yesterday,  the number of applicants to the annual PBA rookie draft rose to 44. According to PBA media bureau chief  Williue Marcial, with still so many rookies knocking on their doors,  they might extend the deadline a few more days.  Among the last to file their application were slam-dunk kings Elmer Espiritu of the University of the East and Rey Francis Guevarra of Letran, accompanied by their agent Charlie Dy. According to Charlie, the 6-foot-4  Esoiritu was the UAAP/NCAA all-star slam dunk champ in 2006 and 2008.  He was also in the 2009 UAAP mythical team and was voted defensive player of the season. He played for various PBL teams and for the RP Patriots in the ABL. The 6-3 Guevarra was also UAAP/NCAA all-star slam dunk champion in 2005 and 2007. He suited up for Bacchus and Toyota Otis in the PBL where he also won the slam dunk competition in 2006. He now plays for Smart Gilas Pilipinas. The Stankovic Cup which will be staged in Lebanon on Aug. 7 to 15 will be his last stint with the national squad.