No pressure to deliver for new Tamaraws coach Olsen

Newly installed Far Eastern U coach Olsen Racela may be handling a team with a winning tradition, but he won’t be hard-pressed to achieve success immediately with the school giving him time to develop better players on and off the court.

Currently one of coach Tim Cone’s assistants with Ginebra in the PBA, the 46-year-old Racela was named head coach of the Tamaraws Tuesday night.

He succeeded younger brother Nash, who steered the Sampaloc, Manila-based school to the UAAP crown in 2015.

“We never pressure our coaches to deliver championships,” said FEU athletic director Mark Molina.

“We were very happy with coach Nash (Racela). What’s important is we continue the change in culture that he brought to FEU through coach Olsen.”

The appointment came as a surprise with Nash Racela’s top assistant with the Tamaraws, Josh Reyes, among the frontrunners for the FEU job after Manny V. Pangilinan’s group decided to make the younger Racela head coach of TNT Ka-Tropa in the PBA.

Molina said FEU still wanted Nash Racela to be involved with the team, making the decision to hire Olsen Racela easier.

Olsen Racela told the Inquirer Tuesday night that his new role won’t get in the way with his job with the Gin Kings.

“I will still remain with Ginebra, but I will have to fix my schedule,” said Racela, who also coached the Philippine Under-16 squad in the Fiba-Asia Championships in 2011.

The FEU position is Racela’s first head coaching job since handling Purefoods in the PBA in the 2013-2014 season. He made his head coaching debut in the PBA with Petron in the 2012-2013 season.

“It’s a great opportunity and a big responsibility,” Racela said.

“I’ve always wanted to coach a college team. I find fulfillment in coaching the youth. I will be at FEU to continue the program started by coach Nash.”