SHOULD negotiations hold, Franz Pumaren will be a coaching consultant at GlobalPort and will play a very active role on the bench for the Batang Pier when the PBA’s season-ending Governors’ Cup gets off the ground on July 15.
The Batang Pier have yet to formally name a new coach and are saying that they are either tapping Johnedel Cardel or Eric Gonzales to take the place of Pido Jarencio, who was kicked upstairs late in the Commissioner’s Cup for failing to land the depleted team a place in the playoffs.
An Inquirer source who requested not to be named said, however, that management will eventually name Pumaren head coach.
Pumaren inked a contract with Adamson to coach the Falcons in the coming UAAP Season and PBA rules prohibit head coaches from its teams calling the shots for anyone else.
The same source said that Pumaren will basically do what American Todd Purves did for San Miguel Beer a few conferences back, when he was officially listed as assistant but was clearly the one calling the shots in games.
GlobalPort, which has possibly the most prolific and exciting backcourt in the league in national player Terrence Romeo and former Rookie of the Year Stanley Pringle, made a first-ever Final Four appearance in the Philippine Cup this season.
The Batang Pier, however, won just one game in their best-of-seven series against Alaska before being eliminated in the Commissioner’s Cup where Romeo and Pringle missed majority of their games because of injuries.