From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Jacobs (basketball)
Ron Jacobs (basketball)
Ron Jacobs tees. Jacobs eventually left Loyola, exasperated by the
politics that smeared his name.[1]
Sport(s) Basketball
Current position
Going to the Philippines
Title Head coach
As Jacobs reassessed his future upon leaving Loyola
Biographical details Marymount, an invitation to visit Manila fell on his lap.
Ambassador Eduardo (Danding) Cojuangco was appoint-
Born December 27, 1942 (1942-12-27)
ed project director for basketball by Ferdinand Marcos.
Place of birth Marion, North Carolina Having effectively sidelined then FIBA and BAP President
Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat, Cojuangco sent the late Basketball
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Association of the Philippines secretary-general Honesto
Loyola Marymount University Mayoralgo to the US to look for an American coach who
Northern Consolidated Cement could reinvigorate the sport in the Philippines. Mayoral-
San Miguel Beer
go was an Ateneo graduate who tapped his contacts in
Accomplishments and honors Jesuit schools to ask around for recommendations. May-
oralgo was pointed at Jacobs’ direction.
Awards
Jacobs came to the Philippines back in 1980 along
Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year 1980 with another NCAA coach Ben Lindsey. Danding Cojuang-
co, willing to give any amount just to get any of the two
Ron Jacobs (born December 27, 1942 in Marion, North coaches, was to choose who among the two topnotch
Carolina, United States) was head coach of the men’s bas- coaches that he would hire to run the state of affairs of
ketball team at the Loyola Marymount University, Los Philippine basketball. The jockeying for the position in-
Angeles. After turning the program around in just a sea- tensified deeply that the two coaches, once good friends,
son from a lowly 5-21 pushover to a legitimate contender, eventually ended up bitter at each other. Jacobs allegedly
Jacobs was invited to coach the Philippine team by then threw negative statements behind Lindsey’s back and he
Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.. eventually earned Cojuangco’s job for the coveted and lu-
Jacobs brought the Philippines back to prominence in crative position. Lindsey left the Philippines in a huff, fu-
basketball during the 80’s and is the last head coach of eling speculations, and Jacobs stayed behind.[2]
the Philippine National Basketball team to have a win-
ning record against the Chinese National Basketball
team. Coaching the Philippine Na-
As a basketball coach, Jacobs revolutionized the way tional Team
basketball was played in the Philippines. He raised the
level of technology in playing the game and turned every Jacobs’s first task was to improve the quality of basketball
contest into a learning experience by showing how to in the Philippines. After watching some Philippine Bas-
win with science, hard work, team play and discipline. ketball Association games, he came up with the idea of
naturalizing American collegiate players as Filipinos, to
pass basketball technology to Filipino cagers.
Loyola Marymount Jacobs formed his first team in 1981, it had eight
Ron Jacobs was named West Coast Conference Coach of American players (Steve Schall, Steve Lingerfelter, Bruce
the Year for piloting the Loyola Marymount’s basketball Webster, Willie Polk, Eddie Joe Chavez, Jeff Moore, Dennis
varsity to the NCAA Tournament in 1980. He had turned Still and Michael Antoine), two Filipino-Americans (Wil-
the program around in just a season from a lowly 5-21 lie Pearson and Ricky Brown) and two local players (both
pushover to a legitimate contender. from San Beda - JB Yango and Frankie Lim). The starting
Jacobs became an overnight hero at the Loyola cam- unit for that team included the 7’0 Steve Schall, the 6’8
pus in Los Angeles and there emerged a popular clamor Dennis Still, the 6’3 Jeff Moore, the 6’1 Eddie Joe Chavez
for him to take over as Loyola athletic director. This and the 6’0 Ricky Brown. Steve Lingerfelter, at 6’9, was
didn’t sit well with some in the school’s Board of Trus- Schall’s backup at the slot while Willie Pearson similarly
languished at the bench. This team was sent to the 1981
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Jacobs (basketball)
William Jones Cup tournament where they beat a solid very young but promising rookie Hur Jae. The Philippines
American team made up of US NCAA Division I collegiate won the game, 77-74, which featured a mini-brawl with
players by more than 20 points in the finals and an av- the usual taunts and threats. The team was to meet Chi-
erage winning margin of more than 30 points against na, who won over Japan, in the finals. In the finals, the
the others. The 1981 team encountered a backlash as Philippine side featured Alfie Almario’s timely sniping
Filipinos found it hard to accept the victory as the Ameri- from the outside, Hector Calma’s masterful quarterback-
cans were the ones responsible for the victory, with Yan- ing, and Teddy Alfarero’s matching up well against Chi-
go and Lim being fielded sparingly. Jacobs eventually na’s star forward Wang Libin. The Philippines won the
threw his program out of the window when Cojuangco game 74-63 with Imelda Marcos and an overflow crowd
feared the non-acceptance of the Filipinos. of 25,000 in the Araneta Coliseum witnessing the game.
Jacobs’ next project was to retain the gold medal in Appreciation and the heart of the Filipino fans fell most
the 1981 SEA Games. Noting the lack of competition, Ja- on Calma and Almario. During the awarding ceremony,
cobs decided to field then-La Salle coach Pilo Pumaren Imelda Marcos went to Calma and Almario and gave both
instead as coach and gave him enough leeway to run players a hug with kisses on both sides of cheeks that
the team. This 1981 team was made up mostly of MICAA drew an emotional applause from the crowd.[2]
and National Seniors players like Ricky Relosa, Bokyo In 1983, Jacobs decided to retain the services of Jeff
Lauchengco, Itoy Esguerra, Ed Cordero, among others. Moore and Dennis Still, owing to the lack of big men that
The gold medal was won with President Marcos himself the country faced. Having read through the FIBA rules
watching at the Big Dome, witnessing the near brawl en- where naturalized players can only play after 3 years of
suing from the solid kick made by Itoy Esguerra in the residency, he immediately submitted Moore and Still’s
face of a Malaysian opponent in the finals.[2] application for naturalization. He then sought for a
Jacobs, for the first time, was to handle a national shooter in the US to provide the outside sock and even-
team all made up of Filipino players in trying to regain tually train the likes of budding shooters like Allan Caidic
the Asian Youth title lost in 1980 from China - a bitter of UE, Pido Jarencio of UST, Jojo Lastimosa of Ateneo, and
setback since the Philippines won the first 5 stagings of Ato Agustin of Lyceum. He recruited Arthur "Chip" En-
the tournament. That 1980 team included players like gelland of Duke University, who would have been eligible
Zaldy Latoza, Elpidio Villamin, Bay Cristobal, Rey Lazaro to play by 1987 for the national team.
among others and handled by Turo Valenzona. Jacobs de- In 1984, the Philippines, under Jacobs, played in the
cided to get players mostly from La Salle - the school ABC tournament held in Qatar. They won their first three
that Cojuangco patronized. This move by Jacobs drew games in the eliminations only to be forfeited because of
raised eyebrows from the basketball circle as after all, Ja- Engelland, Moore and Still’s ineligibility. Howls of protest
cobs was closely associated with then La Salle coach Pi- from the team didn’t prosper despite the initial assur-
lo Pumaren. Jacobs choices were less talented, less ath- ance made by the ABC, eventually raising the suspicion
letic and unknown players in the collegiate ranks like that the Philippine team was set up to lose via techni-
La Salle players Jun Tan, Jong Uichico, Teddy Alfarero, cality. The team went down 0-3 and the American mem-
Derek Pumaren, Rey Cuenco of Arellano and the fat and bers were barred from playing. The team didn’t qualify
flat-footed Alfie Almario. The only deserving players in for the quarterfinals and ended up in the classification
Jacobs’ list, as far as Philippine basketball leaders then round, where they beat the remaining rivals convincing-
were concerned, were Hector Calma of Adamson, Louie ly despite playing only their 9 Filipino players. Hence,
Brill and Elmer Reyes of San Beda. It was contended that they became the only team in the history of the ABC to
the team Jacobs formed was weak since dominating col- have won all its games in the tournament but ended up
legiate players like Joey Loyzaga, Terry Saldana, Sonny 9th overall.
Cabatu were left out. Another criticism was that all play- In the latter part of 1984, the Philippines won the
ers selected were above 19 years of age - the Asian Youth Asian Interclub title to earn the right to play in the World
were only for players who were 19 years old and below. Cup for Champion Clubs to be held in Girona, Spain. The
Hector Calma was reportedly a ripe 23 years old already Philippines, playing as the Northern Consolidated Ce-
by then. No team from 1970 to 1984 fielded in a legitimate ment basketball team featuring Moore, Engelland and
lineup, and only when the media reported this in 1987 Still, went up against the Golden Eagles from the USA
did the Philippines under Joe Lipa field a legitimate representing North America, CA Monte Líbano, repre-
Youth team made up of Benjie Paras, Nelson Asaytono, senting Brazil (bannered by the De Souza brothers, wily
Bong Alvarez, Eric Reyes, Jun Reyes, Bobby Jose among point guard Milton Setrini, and the eminent Oscar Sch-
others. midt) representing South America, and Banco di Roma
Even with the criticisms, the RP Youth team mangled Virtus (featuring Dino Meneghin) of Italy for Europe. The
the opposition heading towards the semifinals where Philippine NCC team lost to the Golden Eagles of the USA
met South Korea. This was the game Jacobs feared the by a rout in the first game, failing to cope with the solid
most, especially since South Korea was bannering the zone defense employed by the Americans. In the second
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Jacobs (basketball)
game, they lost by a solitary point against the Brazilians, him to rush to the emergency room of the nearby Med-
78-77. But in the third game, the Philippine NCC team ical City in Pasig. Given up for lost, the Philippine team
toppled the Italians by more than 10 points. Reports from ran roughshod against the Gins minus their leader. When
Girona said that the team won the hearts of the Spanish Jaworski came back to the coliseum with less than 8 min-
basketball fans as they saw the smallest basketball team utes left in the 4th canto, the crowd erupted seeing the
in the World Cup for Champion Clubs play competitively Big J with a bandage on his upper lip. The Big J entered
against taller opponents from Europe and America. Ron the game, his team behind 15 points. The crowd was al-
Jacobs later admitted that he did not instill in his players’ ready in a frenzy by then, and every Ginebra shot was
minds to give their best for the World Cup for Champion punctuated by heavy cheering matched only by every
Clubs, as they treated the tournament as just part of their NCC missed shot. The game ended with Ginebra winning
preparation for the coming Asian Basketball Confedera- and Jacobs shaking his head in disbelief.
tion Championships.[2] However, this didn’t stop Jacobs’ wards in their drive
In 1985, an even bigger victory came in the William for the championship. Having topped the semifinals
Jones Cup in Taiwan. Ranked 4th overall, the Philippine round, they earned the first seat in the finals and waited
team wasn’t expected to do well, especially since the for the winner of the Manila Beer-Ginebra series. They
Americans were represented by solid NCAA Division I dethroned Great Taste Coffee in the semifinals. Jacobs se-
players like Harold Pressley, Joe Wolf, Kenny Gattison, cretly longed to have Manila Beer in the finals, know-
Kevin Henderson, Jay Bilas and Tommy Amaker and ing fully well how difficult to go up against a Ginebra
coached by Purdue’s Gene Keady, fresh from being team with the crowd behind them. Similarly, Jacobs had
awarded 1984 NCAA national coach of the year and Big difficulty finding an antidote to Michael Hackett, unlike
10 Coach of the year. Keady was assisted on the bench Manila Beer’s Francois Wise who Still can dominate one-
by Bruce Webber, his assistant at Purdue that would later on-one. Manila Beer beat Ginebra in sudden death to
become a decorated coach himself. But Jacobs’ boys barge into the finals. It was a rout - Jacobs led a 4-0 sweep,
pulled off one surprise after another as Moore worked including a 32 point victory in the last game, 138-106 - re-
like a horse, Engelland was at his pinpoint accuracy best, garded as the most lopsided finals ever in PBA history.
Calma was at his prime handling the court generalship In December 1985, the ABC Championship was held in
role, and the tandem of Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic do- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the Philippines as favorites
ing wonders both inside and outside. In the finals, the to win the championship alongside China. In the semifi-
team found itself to be in a dilemma, as center Dennis nals, the Philippine team demolished China to earn the
Still was hobbled by a bum knee while Jeff Moore en- right to meet South Korea in the finals. The team final-
countered some back problems. But showing true guts ly regained its ABC Championship, last won in 1973 when
and courage, the two players overcame the odds, and, the tournament was in Manila, on January 5, 1986 with
with Engelland sniping away from the outside with 42 Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic leading in the scoring end.
points and Lim, Caidic and Franz Pumaren doing equal As early as 1985, Jacobs was already mapping out a
damage from the arc, the SMB team won against the grand plan to ensure continuity with his system. Know-
Americans overtime of the final, 108-100. Tommy Amak- ing fully well that Still and Moore were already in their
er didn’t know what hit him - he was astonished how Cal- 30’s, he eyed Benjie Paras and Alvin Patrimonio to take
ma outran and outfoxed him all throughout the game. over the slots left by Still and Moore. Engelland, on the
It came to a point when the foreign press described Cal- other hand, was relatively younger and was already hon-
ma as the "point guard whiz" from the Philippines while ing Allan Caidic, Naning Valenciano and Pido Jarencio’s
being astonished by Samboy Lim’s high-flying and dare- shooting skills. Jacobs was also expecting Jojo Lastimosa
devil ways. Jacobs in an interview said "I thought the to take over the slot to be vacated by Engelland in the fu-
American team that beat us in the Interclub World Tour- ture.
ney was weaker than the American team we beat in the Then the People Power Revolution took place in Fe-
Jones Cup finals". In saying those words, Jacobs meant bruary 1986 that forced the departure of Cojuangco. Ja-
that they could have won two successive trophies if only cobs suddenly found himself without a job as the BAP un-
they treated the World Interclub tourney seriously. der Puyat regained control of Philippine basketball fief-
With the momentum on their side, Jacobs’ team their dom. Jacobs left for the US but later returned sometime
last pre-ABC tournament in the Philippine Basketball As- in 1994.
sociation’s Reinforced Conference, with each team fea-
turing one import with a maximum height of 6’5. In one
semifinals tiff held at the ULTRA, Jacobs’ went up against
Coaching in the Philippine Bas-
Robert Jaworski’s Ginebra in what may be considered as ketball Association
one of the best PBA games of all time. Ginebra lost Robert
In the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, the Philip-
Jaworski via a busted lip midway in the second quarter
pine national team was composed mainly of players from
on account of a wayward elbow from Moore that forced
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Jacobs (basketball)
the 1994 PBA All-Filipino champions San Miguel Beer, • Binky Favis - former assistant coach of Barangay
which was owned by Danding Cojuangco. Coach Norman Ginebra Kings
Black backstopped a team featuring Allan Caidic, Ato • Siot Tanquincen- a former University of Santo
Agustin, Dong Polistico, Alvin Teng, Hector Calma plus 3 Tomas guard and Jacobs scout who won two titles as
players from Purefoods (Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codin- Ginebra coach and one title with his current team,
era, Rey Evangelista), 1 player from Alaska (Johnny Abar- the San Miguel Beermen.
rientos) and 2 topnotch amateurs (Marlou Aquino and • Eric Altamirano - runs the successful Coach E
Kenneth Duremdes). Jacobs was sent by Cojuangco to basketball academy and is in charge of the San
provide advice to Black. Jacobs’ with Black was seen in Miguel All-Stars project where retired players tour
one game in the semifinals, where Jacobs and Quinito the country in promotional exhibitions.
Henson almost came to blows with Norman Black as the • Allan Caidic - current assistant coach and former
latter despised the two’s incessant interference in his head coach of the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
coaching. Eventually, this team ended up 4th place and • Tonichi Yturri - former head coach of the Cebu Gems
out of the medal race in the tournament. in the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball
Black was then eased out of the San Miguel Beer Association, the St. Benilde Blazers in the NCAA and
bench to give way to Jacobs, who was given the reins in Harbour Centre in the Philippine Basketball League.
1997. Jacobs handled a moribund San Miguel team that • Hector Calma - current team manager of the San
had only Nelson Asaytono as his offensive weapon. In Miguel Beermen
that only season as head coach, Jacobs piloted SMB to two • Samboy Lim - current team manager of the Barangay
third place finishes - an outstanding feat especially con- Ginebra Kings
sidering the lineup that the Beermen possessed. • Pido Jarencio - champion coach of the University of
In 1998, the Basketball Coaches Association of the Santo Tomas Tigers in the 2006 UAAP and assistant
Philippines (BCAP) under Chito Narvasa petitioned to the coach of the San Miguel Beermen.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that Ron • Franz Pumaren - former head coach of De La Salle
Jacobs had no right to coach a PBA team for being a for- University Green Archers of the UAAP and of
eigner. The DOLE agreed and Jacobs was made a con- Magnolia in the Philippine Basketball League.
sultant and gave the coaching job to his protege Jong • Jun Tan - head coach in the Cebu ranks and the
Uichico. A few weeks after, Jacobs was being contem- former of the Granny Goose Tortillos in the
plated upon by then PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino Philippine Basketball League.
to handle the 1998 Centennial team that was tasked to • Jong Uichico - current head coach of the Barangay
win the gold at the 1998 Asian Games in Thailand. Again, Ginebra Kings which he led to a title in his first stint
the BCAP stepped in and protested Jacobs’ pending ap- with the team. He also led the San Miguel Beermen
pointment. Bernardino instead appointed Alaska coach to six titles from 1999-2005.
Tim Cone to handle the reins of the national team, who • Louie Brill - team captain of RP Youth and
copped a bronze medal. tournament MVP 1982. Commissioner and Founder
In 2002, Bernardino finally stood his ground and for- of the Fil-Am Basketball League of Maryland. Trains
mally appointed Jacobs to handle the national team to Fil-Am youth to compete in yearly Inter-State
play in the Busan Asian Games. Armed with a blueprint Basketball Tournament. Played for Ron Jacobs with
designed to earn the gold medal, Jacobs proposed having NCC. Won two championships with the San Beda Red
two national team selections made up of 24 of the most Lions 1977-78.
outstanding PBA players to go up against PBA teams with
import reinforcements. While many questioned Jacobs’
preference to play in the PBA (which was to revert to
Stroke
amateur rules during the time), no one doubted what Ja- On December 22, 2001, Jacobs suffered a stroke while dri-
cobs had in mind for he was the only one who under- ving home to his Pasig apartment. Jacobs is now a wheel-
stood what he was doing. But Jacobs suffered a near-fatal chair user, unable to speak and walk.
stroke, and the coaching mantle was eventually turned
over to Uichico who was earlier appointed as Jacobs’
chief second and scout. The 4th place standing in the
References
Asian Games ended up as being one of the biggest disap- [1] http://www.philstar.com/philstar/
pointments in Philippine sports in year 2002. NEWS200612271604.htm
[2] ^ http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/
showthread.php?t=182050&page=43
Coaching tree Persondata
Today, several Jacobs disciples are coaching or occupying Name Jacobs, Ron
front office jobs in Philippine basketball.
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ron Jacobs (basketball)
Preceded by NCC Basketball Program Head Coach Succeeded by
First 1980-1986 Disbanded
Alternative names Place of birth Marion, North Carolina
Short description Date of death
Date of birth December 27, 1942 Place of death
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ron_Jacobs_(basketball)&oldid=460684342"
Categories:
• 1942 births
• American basketball coaches
• Living people
• Philippine Basketball Association coaches
• Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball coaches
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