Coaches Aldin Ayo (left) and Nash Racela. PHOTO by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Coaches Nash Racela and Aldin Ayo dealt with adversities differently but both wound up as champions after steering their respective teams to thrilling runs that snapped decade-long title droughts.
Racela led Far Eastern University to a record 20th UAAP crown and Ayo helped Letran emerge as the new NCAA champion in incredible feats that earned them top honors in this season’s Collegiate Basketball Awards.
Both Racela and Ayo will be recognized as this season’s best coaches in the annual event presented by the UAAP and NCAA Press Corps and Smart Sports on Jan. 26 at Saisaki-Kamayan in Greenhills.
This year’s top performers, led by the Smart Player of the Year and Collegiate Mythical Five, will also be named.
Under Racela, FEU had been traditionally tagged as favorite but always fell short until this season where the Tamaraws slipped past the University of Santo Tomas Tigers in a heart-stopping finals series.
Letran, meanwhile, had been overlooked with new coach Ayo at the helm. Yet the Knights pulled off the improbable and spoiled San Beda’s bid for a sixth straight championship in another classic title duel.
Ayo, who recently jumped to La Salle in the UAAP, will be the fourth rookie coach to earn the distinction after Ato Agustin in 2009 and Juno Sauler and Boyet Fernandez in 2013.
Past awardees include Norman Black and Eric Altamirano in the UAAP and Frankie Lim and Louie Alas in the NCAA.