CHICAGO - A roller-coaster UAAP Season 87 men's basketball campaign that had its share of sweeping highs and crushing lows has reached a sad ending.
Jack Santiago is out as head coach of the University of the East Red Warriors, a source told me as the school zeroes in on a targeted search for the next face of the once-glorious program.
No one could have predicted this outcome after UE began this season with a flourish, a 5-2 start that included a 75-71 conquest of the defending champions La Salle Green Archers.
READ Coach Jack's job security in question anew after UE stumbles out of UAAP Season 87
But the Red Warriors' hot September quickly turned frigid by November as UE went on a five-game freefall to end the second round and then lost to Adamson in a knockout game for the last semifinals ticket.
Santiago's contract doesn't expire until this coming January 1 but as the losses and disappointments piled up, the enthusiasm to give him an extension faded like cheap jewelry.
In fairness to coach Jack, the epic collapse of squandering six opportunities to make the playoffs does not fall solely on his shoulders.
DIVIDED THEY FELL.
His players cracked under pressure and were actually, statistics-wise, a group that spawned unrealistic expectations following that 5-2 start.
After 15 games - including the do-or-die against the Soaring Falcons - UE averaged a pedestrian 62.1 points, 39.9 rebounds and 13.3 assists against 15.2 turnovers a game.
UE shot just 35.6 percent from the field overall (225-of-556) including a mere 27.9 clip from three (100-of-358). The Red Warriors were also horrid from the free throw line, 182-of-290.
Long before they were officially eliminated, spider web cracks on the wall suggesting a splintered locker room began to surface.
In a profanity-laced interview following a 59-51 loss to FEU last November 3, Red Warriors star Precious Momowei said "We have been playing like sh**t lately. I don't know what the f**ck is wrong with us."
During his tenure that began in 2020, Santiago, a fruit of the Franz Pumaren coaching tree, was seen as a likable authority figure, tough on the edges but a generous and nurturing soul.
MISSION UNACCOMPLISHED.
Ultimately, however, his fate was decided by the failed pursuit to end UE's Final Four drought, a run of futility that stretched to 15 years under his watch.
Who got next?
Cholo Villanueva has reportedly been offered the job during a Christmas party hosted by a famous adult beverage brand last November 28. As of Wednesday night, Villanueva was still trying to navigate a super complicated situation.
Villanueva currently runs the women's program at La Salle where his relationships with the managers run so deep that the words "family" and "forever green" are often tossed around like bible verses at Sunday mass.
The 42-year old former PBA player is also linked to Tanduay, the main sponsor of UE and the owner of the Rum Masters team that Villanueva coaches in the MPBL.
Outside of those two gigs, coach Cholo is also in charge of the GSIS Furies in the UNTV Cup and the NZ Blue Fire Valkyries of the soon-to-start WMPBL.
Unlike the more glamorous programs, the UE vacancy pays only around P300,000 a month, an insider said. But it still carries the prestige of being one of only eight UAAP positions.
Will Cholo Villanueva surrender four jobs for one dream?
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