Frankie Lim’s debut as NLEX head coach has to wait.
Interim coach Adonis Tierra will be calling the shots for the Road Warrior as Lim — the newly-appointed mentor
— has to complete some documents before formalizing his return to the Philippine Basketball Association.
Lim and Tierra made the confirmation to Daily Tribune on Thursday, a day before the Road Warriors battle their former coach Yeng Guiao and Rain or Shine in the second day of the Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
This will be Lim’s first time to coach in the league since handling Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Commissioner’s Cup in 2015.
He, however, figured in a skirmish with former Alaska bruiser Calvin Abueva, prompting the Kings to replace him with Tim Cone, who eventually led them to six titles.
Now, Lim is back but his return has to wait pending the completion of some documents.
“I won’t be coaching on Friday,” Lim told his players and the coaching staff during their first official meeting at the Epsilon Chi Center inside the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.
“But I’ll be introducing a few plays we can use once I start running the practices. I’ll start joining your practice on Saturday.”
After Friday’s game, the Road Warriors are set to face Meralco on Sunday but Lim is tipped to call the shots against Blackwater next Friday to give him more time to know the players.
“I don’t want to mess up the plans put up by Coach Adonis and Coach Borgie (Hermida),” Lim said.
“But I’m looking at Friday next week in our game against Blackwater to officially coach the team.”
Chemistry will not be a problem for the incoming coach, Lim, and the interim mentor, Tierra.
In fact, they played together for Hills Brothers — the brand being carried by the old Alaska franchise in 1987 — and manned the backcourt that led to two finals runs.
“We played together at Hills Brothers, so we really knew each other,” added Tierra, who ran the training in preparation for the Elasto Painters.
“We were even teammates in a small league in San Juan and we won a championship.”
