CHICAGO - In the aftermath of his mutual parting of ways with Converge, coach Aldin Ayo immediately got busy with other things in his life.
The time off from the game allowed him to tend to his diverse business portfolio including farming, rows and rows of rice fields as far as the eyes can see.
He also got to frolic with loved ones and friends.
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Still, basketball never strayed far from his orbit. While back in his stomping grounds in Sorsogon, he reflected on his "lapses" and acquired additional learning by clicking through various game films.
At age 47, Ayo is still an ardent student of his craft.
Fifty-five days after leaving the PBA, the former "golden boy" of coaching is now ready to enter the rat race.
HE'S BACK!!
"Handa na po akong bumalik sa coaching," he told me in a telephone interview on Friday night.
"Kahit saan, " he said when asked if he had a preference between the pro and colleague ranks.
A winner wherever he went, at the NCAA in 2015 with Letran and with La Salle a year later in the UAAP, Ayo can help any school in both leagues, especially those that had underperformed in this ongoing season.
Teaching knows no boundaries and I think his basketball beliefs and principles also apply among pro players.
Although his four-conference stint with the FiberXers ended up with a 17-28 won-lost record, it is misleading to use that as a tool to measure his worth.
YES, NUMBERS DON'T LIE. BUT NOT ALL THE TIME.
As a famous man once said, the three worst things in sports are "lies, damn lies and statistics."
During his nearly two years at Converge, the FiberXers entered the quarterfinals twice, which is the same number of playoffs appearances the Terrafirma Dyip have since entering the league in 2014.
Let that staggering thought sink in.
Speaking of the Dyip, which has a coaching opening, they'd be wise to call Ayo. But I don't know anyone, even someone as great a teacher as Aldin, can build from the colossal ruins of a hapless franchise.
But sports, just like politics, makes strange bedfellows.
If I were to dream, I'd love to romanticize the idea of Ayo returning to the UAAP where he can match wits with coaches Tab Baldwin, Topex Robinson and Goldwin Monteverde.
We can also drool at the thought of Ayo testing the muster of his clipboard against young guns Charles Tiu of CSB and Yuri Escueta of San Beda in the NCAA.
When the former Chooks- To Go 3x3 coach was on the sidelines, a line in the play The Bronx Tale kept darting through my mind: "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent."
Not anymore. Aldin Ayo is back.
Hopefully, sooner than later.
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