AS University of the East continues its revamp under new head coach Chris Gavina, so has its staff been remade.
Just recently, the Red Warriors' already-loaded braintrust got even better with the addition of another ex-PBA player in Louie Vigil.
“I help more in shooting and skills. Mas player development and trying to teach the young guys, lalo ‘yung mga hindi pa nakakalaro masyado,” Vigil told SPIN.ph.
The now-33 year old joins Alex Cabagnot, KG Canaleta, and Paolo Hubalde as veterans in Asia's first pay-for-play league now sharing their experiences with the next generation of basketball talent. Also on the bench are RJ Argamino, who saw action in PBA 3x3, and Melvin Reyes.
For his part, Vigil views his new post to be win-win, as he gets his feet wet in terms of coaching, while also getting to learn still from the likes of Gavina and Cabagnot.
“When I got the invite from coach Alex and coach Chris, I made it a point to attend trainings whenever time permits and make the most of every learning opportunity. It's humbling, realizing that I'm still a student of the game,” he said.
“It gives me another purpose and I'm excited about it."
Go fight, red and white!
At the same time, the three-time PBA champion also acknowledges he has a part to play in getting UE back on track - and hopefully, onto a return of its culture of contention.
“The possibility of coach Chris turning UE into a winning team again is something that I want to witness and be a part of,” he said.
READ: Gavina, Momowei hope to spread passion to rest of rebuilding UE
It has been 40 years since Recto celebrated a UAAP championship. The Red Warriors also unfortunately own the longest-active playoff drought in the league, as 2010 was the last time they made the Final Four.
With the likes of Vigil now in tow, however, Gavina is slowly but surely putting the infrastructure in place for UE's turnaround.
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