BE careful what you wish for.
Pao Javelona could just smirk telling how he found himself back in National U 12 years removed from his championship season back in 2014.
"Biniro ko lang si coach Jeff [Napa] eh," he shared with SPIN.ph, with the 31-year-old now the newest and youngest part of the Bulldogs coaching staff.
And to think it all started as a joke.
Seeing NU's painful defeat as top seed last year, Javelona got into a chance encounter with Napa and kidded that maybe, just maybe, he could help this UAAP Season 89.
"Para kasing same eh. Kami din top seed pero natalo kami [noong 2013], tapos the season after, nag-champion na ang NU. So sabi ko kay coach Jeff, baka makatulong ako," he said.
Javelona is coming off a forgettable stint as a head coach in the MPBL where he handled Bacolod Tubo Slashers together with fellow Ilonggo Noy Baclao.
It was a job that left him with mixed feelings: an honor to be entrusted as shot-caller at a young age, but also frustrated at struggling to compete with the rest of the field.
For NU, forever
Still, all that made one thing clearer for Javelona: he wanted to teach what he knows.
And it brought him to the place where he had the finest moment of his career: right in the heart of Jhocson.
Now, the pesky 6-foot guard is imparting his knowledge to the next generation of Bulldogs in hopes of bringing glory back to the blue-and-gold.
"Sila Tebol [Garcia], sila Reinhard [Jumamoy], yan ang mgaa nagpapatulong sa akin lagi," Javelona shared, with his role primarily helping the skills of the guards, particularly when it comes to shooting and on-ball defense.
So far, so good for Javelona's mentees, with Jumamoy averaging 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.0 steals and Garcia norming 11.0 markers, 2.4 boards, and 2.0 dimes through their 3-2 start
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More pointedly, the two - alongside Mac Alfanta and Paul Francisco - have served as spearhead of the National U defense that puts its opponents inside a pressure cooker for the whole length of the floor.
While it started as a joke, it's no longer a laughing matter now the new Bulldogs coach is in the thick of things.
And if NU does get the chip back? Then Javelona may just have the last laugh.
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