Serbian-Kiwi mentor Nenad Vucinic is thrilled to be part of Meralco when it campaigns in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup starting 15 October.
The 58-year-old Vucinic said there’s a better reason why he returned and rekindled his love affair with Philippine basketball.
“There’s no secret, the passion and the interest in the game — from the fans, to the players and the coaches. Filipino players play hard, and that’s something you cannot ignore as a coach,” Vucinic said.
“I’m just helping them learn some technical things and understanding of the game. But the level of play of Filipinos is something to be admired.”
Vucinic arrived in the country last year to serve as assistant coach of his good friend, Tab Baldwin, at Gilas Pilipinas.
But when Baldwin resigned to focus on Ateneo de Manila University, Vucinic was tapped as the head coach of the national squad in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Then, he joined Reyes in the Gilas coaching staff while working with coach Norman Black with Meralco.
He left Gilas in August last year but came back the following year to take a more active role as consultant of Meralco.
Now, he’s back for another tour of duty with Black serving as team consultant and Luigi Trillo manning the coaching chores.
“We’re very happy that we still have Coach Norman in our coaching staff. My responsibilities in the team include working on the offensive and defensive scheme of things,” Vucinic said, adding that the PBA On Tour is a good way to gauge their readiness for the new season.
“We’re using these games to see where we are, what we can develop. So far, it has been good to us.”
Despite Trillo at the saddle and Black having a supporting role, Vucinic insisted that they are still doing everything collectively.
“We’re working as a team,” Vucinic said, stressing that Black did a good job leading the Bolts to four finals appearances in seven years.
“But without Coach Norman, I don’t think we can work this more effectively. He’s a proven winner, but sometimes, you just need a new voice to share it with the players and Coach Luigi has been doing a great job as early as last season.”
