Jazul, Fuel Masters confident of smooth transition under Alas

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

If there’s someone in Phoenix who knows how great of a coach Louie Alas is, it’s RJ Jazul.

Sharing a bond since their days in Letran, the 31-year-old couldn’t help but wax nostalgic over his history with the soft-spoken mentor, whom he has reunited with at the Fuel Masters.

“I feel younger,” he said. “Since college, we’ve been together and that continued in Alaska.”

Jazul has every reason to feel upbeat. After all, his partnership with Alas allowed him to be a part of the Knights squad which won the NCAA title back in 2005, while also a key factor in the Aces’ Finals appearances in the past three years.

“We’re all positive here, I know what coach Louie and the coaching staff can do for us,” he said.

But with the familiarity also comes responsibility as Jazul will be counted on to make the Fuel Masters’ transition under Alas easier.

However, the 5-foot-11 sharpshooter said that the burden should fall on every player in the Fuel Masters roster to fulfill their roles in the new system Alas will implement.

“It’s now up to us. Whoever coach you put in, if the players won’t follow, the success wouldn’t come. So we all have to buy-in to the system of coach Louie,” he said.

Pressured as Phoenix is to turn things around after a rather lackluster showing last season, Jazul is just keeping the faith on Alas and his teammates as the Fuel Masters prepare for a turnaround conference starting this upcoming 2018 Philippine Cup.

“Since I got traded here in Phoenix, I always had that pressure because it’s expected that the team will do good,” he said. “Now that coach Louie is here, it’s still the same. But it’s up to us as a team to deal with it and hopefully in the coming weeks, we’ll figure out where we’ll end up.”