PATRICK Fran gets the biggest break of his coaching career as he’s been named coach of the Meralco team seeing action in the launching of the PBA 3x3 tournament.
A long-time deputy on the Bolts’ 5-on-5 team under coach Norman Black, the 3x3 stint will be the first head coaching job for Fran, also a former PBA player.
Fran tries to right the ship after the Meralco squad was orphaned by what was supposed to be one of the biggest acquisitions prior to the inaugural season of the three-a-side league.
After initially tapping the services of Fil-Am guard Jason Brickman, the Bolts suddenly found themselves without their go-to-guy after the former LIU Brooklyn standout opted to take his act to the Kaohsiung Aquas in the Taiwan T1 League as uncertainty surrounded the PBA 3x3 meet earlier this year.
Now Fran will have to make do with a roster composed of ex-Meralco Bolt Joseph Sedurifa, former Rain or Shine player Dexter Maiquez, 3x3 veteran Tonino Gonzaga, big man Alfred Batino and Maclean Sabellina, with RJ Deles completing its six-man roster.
Jason Brickman has joined Kaohsiung Aquas in the T1 league.
Gonzaga, Batino, and Sabellina all have previous experiences playing the fast-paced, half-court game in a competitive level.
The 6-foot-1 Gonzaga was part of the 3x3 team commissioned to play full scrimmages against the Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 team that saw action in the last Olympic Qualification Tournament in Graz, Austria, and the gold-medal winning squad that ruled the inaugural staging of the event during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
According to Fran, the Bolts opted not to name a replacement player for Brickman.
At the same time, the former guard out of Santo Tomas is also getting some inputs from fellow Meralco deputy Ronnie Magsanoc, who serves as national coach of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s 3x3 team.
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