NASH Racela finally came to terms with Blackwater in what should be the start of yet another chapter in the PBA franchise's history.
Racela met with team owner Dioceldo Sy and team governor Siliman Sy at the team office on Wednesday where he signed a two-year guaranteed contract.
He takes over the coaching job from interim mentor Aris Dimaunahan.
The 47-year-old Racela, who last coached in the PBA in 2018 for TnT Katropa, will be meeting with the Blackwater coaching staff that includes his former TnT and Far Eastern University deputy Gilbert Lao within the week.
At Blackwater, Racela will work once again with his former players at FEU in Mac Belo, Carl Bryan Cruz, and Mike Tolomia, with whom he won a UAAP men’s basketball championship in 2014.
But at the same time, he also takes over a team that has recently lost some of its noted players to trades, among them Mike Digregorio, Allein Maliksi, and rookies Bobby Ray Parks and Abu Tratter.
Team chemistry obviously suffered following the departure of these players, resulting in the Elite’s failure to advance to the playoffs of the season-ending PBA Governors Cup.
The letdown came just a conference after Blackwater registered its best showing in franchise history when it finished as the third-seeded team going to the playoffs of the Commissioner’s Cup.
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