WITH his future as a player looking increasingly bleak, Rommel Adducul is getting ready to move on to a coaching job in college basketball.
Adducul and Globalport have yet to discuss a contract extension just months before the end of his current contract, but the former All-Star center has been in talks with Topex Robinson about the possibility of joining him on San Sebastian's coaching staff.
“Matagal na rin naman niya ako kinukulit. Saka gusto ko ring ma-impart sa mga bata yung mga natutunan ko sa basketball,” said Adducul, a former teammate of Robinson at San Sebastian.
Aside from sharing his knowledge of the game, Adducul also believes he can be a good career guide for young players seeking their place in the professional ranks.
“Gusto ko ring matuto ang mga bata na this early, makapag-invest,” he said. “Madami kasing mga bata ngayon na malalaki ang mga sahod tapos biglang mawawala na lang.”
Adducul’s contract with Globalport ends on September 30, and if no offer comes from the Mikee Romero-owned ballclub or other PBA sides, the veteran center said he is ready to accept his fate.
“Wala pa namang sinasabi sa akin,” Adducul confided to Spin.ph when asked if Globalport management has talked to him about a possible contract extension.
Adducul was a holdover from the Powerade franchise, which Globalport bought last year.
But with age fast catching up on him, Adducul's averages sunk to career-lows of 1.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 6.6 minutes this season.
In the recent PBA Commissioner’s Cup, where the Batang Pier only won twice in 14 games, he played just five games as he sunk deeper and deeper in the team's frontline rotation.
Nevertheless, Adducul said he remains thankful to God for his basketball career, which began auspiciously a key part in the San Sebastian Stags’ run to four straight NCAA men’s basketball titles.
He was eventually selected second overall by Barangay Ginebra in 2002, which signaled the start of his PBA career after a three-year stint as the face of the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association.
Still, Adducul said he will grab every opportunity to extend his playing career.
“Siyempre, kinalakihan ko na rin ang paglalaro ng basketball. Kung may available or offer okay,” said Adducul. “Pero kung hindi bigyan (ng contract extension), okay na din. Kahit paano may ipon na rin naman kami ni misis.”
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