WHAT was Ron Jacobs' biggest lesson to Jong Uichico?
It's that coaching is more than just about the Xs and Os.
"Coaching is not just between the white lines. Yan ang natutunan ko kay coach Ron," the multi-titled mentor shared to Coaches Unfiltered.
"Baka akala ng coaches, ang dali-dali lang ng coaching. Pagdating ng practice, two hours tapos tapos na. But that’s not coaching and there is still more to that," he added. "For example, mag-aalaga ka ng player, that’s part of coaching. You will see to their welfare, that’s part of coaching."
Jacobs didn't just preach those values but walked the talk, Uichico said.
"He's very accommodating to his players and pag may kailangan ang player, he’s there right away," said Uichico. "The coaches are willing to spend the time and are willing to care for your players and yan ang number one na nakita ko kay coach Ron."

The deep bond between the two spanned decades, starting when Uichico, then playing for La Salle in the 1980s, was tapped to be a part of the Jacobs-coached Northern Cement side which won the 1982 Asiah Youth Championship.
They reunited in the PBA when Jacobs replaced Norman Black at San Miguel in 1997. Uichico by then was already an assistant coach for the Beermen and became the former's protege.
It was Uichico who inherited Jacobs' post at SMB when the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP) questioned the American's hiring in 1998, and once again for the 2002 Asian Games in Busan after Jacobs suffered a stroke.
Uichico even recounted a conversation he had with Jacobs when he told him that he wanted to be a coach.
"When I told him that I was going to try coaching, we sat down and he asked me if I was willing to spend the time. That was the only question that he asked me," he said.

"It doesn’t matter if I know or I did not know anything; if I'm a good or a bad coach is immaterial. But if you are willing to spend the time, then sa tingin n'yo you have the potential to become a good coach. So that’s what I tell all the coaches."
Uichico did put in the time and was aptly rewarded, winning nine PBA titles across his stints as coach of San Miguel, Ginebra, and TNT.
More than those accolades, though, it was the bond that he forged with his players that means the most for the 58-year-old bench tactician, who now serves as the head of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) coaches academy.
"Even after their playing years and even after my coaching years, kumbaga pag humingi ka ng pabor, they’re still willing because may pinagdaanan kayo sa hirap o ginhawa," said the soft-spoken coach.
"So the experience that you dhad together, hindi lang the championships eh. You may have lost, but the experience that you went through together will carry on after their playing days or after your coaching days that whenever you still get to see them, you still get to talk about a lot of things," he said.
"For example with the San Miguel Beermen, when we still get together, masaya pa. Sa Ginebra, sila Jayjay (Helterbrand), Mark (Caguioa), and the others, when we see each other, parang nami-miss mo rin sila. I think that relationship, the things that you've gone through, will go a long way after.
"Kasi yung championship after a while, wala na rin yun eh. Pero yung mga kwento mo doon sa mga player mo, iikot at iikot yun. They might be telling their stories to their children, sina Dave at Shaun (Ildefonso), baka kinekwento ni Danny I yung experience niya sa akin, so it might trickle down to the next generation. Yun ang lasting kasi paikot-ikot ang kwento."
And it's not limited to the players, but to the coaches, the utility, and the other members of the team as well, all of whom were integral in making a team successful.
"That’s what I treasure, the relationships and the experience that we’ve gone through with all these players," he said.
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