Familiar faces a big help for Nash

Nash Racela will be returning to PBA coaching grateful for a couple of things in place at Blackwater.

“It’s a gift to be able to get back into the PBA,” he said Friday afternoon, shortly after the Elite’s practice at Aero Sports Center in Quezon City.

“But to get familiar faces playing for me?” he asked. “It really helps.”

Racela was appointed head coach of Blackwater late November last year and joins a team that includes former Far Eastern U standouts led by Mac Belo.

Racela used to coach the Tamaraws and was a consultant for his brother and current head coach Olsen Racela.

“This is a new team with new pieces so there’s a lot more teaching going on that’s why the progression is a bit slow,” he said.

“But it really helps that we have guys I am familiar with.” Which perhaps explains why he is optimistic his charges can improve their forgettable 2-9 finish in last season’s Philippine Cup.