CHICAGO - Today is usually a quiet time reserved for reflection and purpose as we process the events of the past 365 days and prepare to plunge into new challenges ahead.
But over at the University of the East, tension is rustling, one that is dangerously flammable and can quickly throw the Red Warriors basketball program into turmoil.
In the wake of the non-renewal of head coach Jack Santiago's contract, UE will soon launch a search for a replacement. This one, though, would be anything but routine.
COLUMN: Jack Santiago out, Cholo Villanueva in as UE Warriors coach?
At stake is the happiness of its three best players - Precious Momowei, John Abata and Nico Mulingtapang - who may depart UE if the school's next head coach isn't to their liking, according to their management company.
So said Phenom Sports Management, which represents the trio and a host of other players in the UAAP.
"We will only entrust our players to people who have righteous goals for them. These boys are like our family. Will you leave them to people you don't know? Of course not.
EMPOWERMENT
"Phenom is a program where we put our players first. We empower them where they can voice their concerns and not be pressured. The reason I brought players there (at UE) was because I knew Jack Santiago and LA Revilla.
"So the coming months are going to be pivotal on who the school will select," Phenom head Anthony "Brody" Brodett told me via text message.
UE can choose to label Phenom's statement as bluff or bluster. Either way, it must be taken seriously. Brody, whose outfit also supplies a myriad of talents across Letran, San Beda, UST, La Salle, College of St Benilde and NU, isn't the type to make empty threats.
What's at risk is losing Momowei, the team's heart and soul who averaged 12.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in Season 87.
Gone, too, would be Agate and his 36 percent clip from 3 and Multintapang's spark off the bench. Without Momowei and Co., UE might just be left with a bunch of weekend warriors.
Unable to sever ties with La Salle where his loyalties run deep, Cholo Villanueva, Santiago's supposed heir apparent, is out of the running for the job.
FIVE-STAR LIST
But an impressive list of candidates have emerged, including former PBA head coaches Franklie LIm and Ariel Vanguardia.
Lim's sterling resume includes four won NCAA titles at San Beda and stints with Purefoods, Ginebra, and most recently, NLEX.
Vanguardia, meanwhile, had tours of duty as head coach of Phoenix and Blackwater before taking his act to the MPBL. Coach Ariel had just emerged from a foray at the NBA Summer League.
Other equally-qualified candidates include Eric Altamirano, Boycie Zamar and Mike Buendia.
Altamirano is a household name among Pinoy hoop fans. Zamar is an assistant at San Miguel Beer while Buendia is Yeng Guiao's deputy at Rain Or Shine.
UE's management will ultimately make the pick, I am told. But to placate its main sponsor, Tanduay will reportedly have a say on the hiring of assistant coaches.
And with Phenom making it implicitly clear who and what they want, I don't think a coaching search at UE in particular or in the UAAP in general, had gotten so complicated.
Will the Red Warriors bend or break?
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