THE decision of San Miguel to acquire Olsen Racela in a trade with Purefoods was a trademark Ron Jacobs move in building a team.
Longtime Jacobs understudy Jong Uichico shared the story behind the Racela trade to San Miguel during a recent coaching webinar, saying that one of the philosophies of the former national coach was building a team around a quality point guard.
When Jacobs took over the coaching reins for the Beermen in 1997, Uichico said their first order of business was to look for a point guard that can run the show the way Hector Calma did for Jacobs' national teams.

Uichico said they were eyeing a number of players but one that caught their attention was Racela, who was then playing for the Purefoods franchise.
“When he was named as head coach of the San Miguel Beermen, the first person that he looked for, and even myself, was a point guard,” said Uichico explained when posed with the question during the Hoop Coaches International webinar organized by Blackwater consultant Ariel Vanguardia.
"We were looking at some players. We want this player but he will not be available," added Uichico, whose relationship with Jacobs dated back to when he played under the American coach in the Philippine Youth team that won the Asian Championship in 1982.

Uichico said Jacobs felt they had a shot at getting Racela, who at that time was a back-up to Dindo Pumaren since he was drafted by Purefoods 12th overall in 1993.
So they met with Racela in Uichico’s home where Jacobs told the former Ateneo guard about their interest in trading for him.
“Who is the next point guard that we might have a chance that we like the style of play and have a chance of getting? And it was Olsen Racela because he played hard, he was smart, and he played behind Dindo (Pumaren) in Purefoods," Uichico said.

The move, Uichico said, wasn't only good for the Beermen but also for Racela, who they felt then had to step out of Pumaren's shadow to be able to blossom.
"For Olsen to be able to maximize his game, he had to move,” said the many-time PBA champion coach. “He knows the story. [Racela] went to the house here and talked to coach Ron in the middle of the night."
The Beermen got Racela in exchange for two second-round draft picks, and the move became the turning point both for the Beermen and for Racela, who became one of the best point guards in the country.
Racela became the first major piece in a San Miguel core that included Nelson Asaytono. The arrival of other key pieces like Fil-Am Danny Seigle and two-time Danny Ildefonso led to another glorious run by the fabled franchise.
Racela won nine PBA championships with the Beermen. 'Rara' also became a member of the Tim Cone-coached Centennial Team in the 1998 Asian Games as well as the national squad for the 2002 Asian Games that Uichico inherited after Jacobs suffered a stroke.
Racela retired at age 40 after collecting a number of individual awards including two Mythical First team distinctions.
The trade no doubt altered the career path of the former Ateneo guard, but Uichico insisted it was all to Racela's credit.
“Who knows naman that he will be the Olsen Racela now if he didn’t work hard and did his job," said Uichico of Racela, who is now a Cone assistant at Barangay Ginebra and coach of Far Eastern University in the UAAP.
"We only got him but it was still up to him to make himself better,” he added.
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