CHICAGO - Running his own collegiate program at age 39 is a feat that speaks highly of the qualifications Letran head coach Allen Ricardo possesses.
According to a few college and PBA coaches that I spoke with, few are more deserving than Ricardo, who is meticulous, hardworking and tremendously likeable.
But as we all saw in Game One of the NCAA Season 101 Finals on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum, good people make bad mistakes.
READ Ricardo takes responsibility after Game 1 gamble backfires
In a surprising, logic-bending ploy, Ricardo fielded a seldom-used player and four third-stringers to start the first 6:53 against a powerhouse San Beda team headlined by the prolific Janti Miller and PBA-bound Yukien Andrada.
If the goal was to "shock and awe," it succeeded.
THE SUBS WERE SUB-PAR.
The substitutes must have been shocked at being suddenly, unexpectedly thrust in that grand stage. And the Knights looked awful in dented, unshiny armour after the team managed just five points during their stint.
I've seen other coaches use this weird switcheroo in the past but only for a possession or two and the motive is to foster togetherness and boost the reserves' morale by showing them that they are part of the journey.
Ricardo, however, overdid it and by the time his starters checked in, San Beda was already humming before eventually winning Game One, 89-70.
"Pinanindigan talaga ni coach Allen ang plano niya, nagmukha tuloy siyang parang nagpaka-genius," a former colleague of Ricardo said of the unconditional game plan.
Asked to explain his actions, Ricardo emphasized the word "trust" in his post-game press conference and said "ganun lang yung tiwala ko sa mga bata and alam naman nila yan."
DEMOTING STARTERS.
Great, but there are other ways to manifest trust toward the reserves without demoting the starters.
What was apparently not factored here was the likelihood of frustration the starting five may feel after toiling so hard in the elimination round and the Final Four only to be benched at the start of the championships.
What also wasn't considered was the possibility that, in this age of legalized sports betting, Ricardo's tactics could be wrongly construed as giving San Beda undue advantage, which of course insn't true.
I'm all for a coach springing surprises, but there is a time and place for experiments. The Finals isn't that time and place.
Bonnie Tan captured three championships at Letran without pulling off any gimmicky, look-at-me antics.
It's called playing it safe and doing what works for you. Being bold can be beautiful, but as Letran has found out quickly, bold can also be destructive.
I've said it before, this NCAA Season 101 title is San Beda's to lose. And after that Game One circus by Letran, my resolve that the Red Lions will add another trophy to their collection only got stronger.
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