COACH Aldrin Castaneda was humble in victory and thanked Japanese counterpart Munehiro Kugiyama for building the foundation that led to Caloy Yulo scoring a historic double gold in the Paris Olympics.
Coach 'Muni' was among the persons Castaneda mentioned when he cited those who helped them in their journey to give the country its first ever Olympic double gold.
"Kay coach Munehiro, nagpapasalamat din ako sa kanya," said Castaneda on Tuesday as he and the remaining members of Team Philippines including Yulo, arrived in the country fresh from its campaign in the Paris Olympics.
Kugiyama served as Yulo's trainer for almost a decade starting in 2013 and together forged a successful partnership that netted the Filipino gymnast two golds in the World Championships, four golds in the FIG World Cup series, six golds in the Asian Championships, and nine Southeast Asian Games gold.
He was also on the side of Yulo when he first competed in the Olympics during the 2020 Tokyo Games.
But the two parted ways late last year just as Yulo was starting to prime up for his second Olympic campaign.
That was when Castaneda came in and reunited with Yulo, with whom he worked when the Filipino was still with the junior gymnastics team.
And in such a short time together, he's also reaping the same fruits Yulo earned after winning the gold in his per event floor exercise and another one in the vault.
"Kasama talaga sa plano namin na kahit isa lang (na gold) ay ok na. E yung pangalawa pag binigay pa ni Lord, jackpot na," he said.
"E dumalawa nga kami. So jackpot na talaga."
As the coach of the first ever Filipino Olympic double gold medalist, Castaneda will also receive cash incentives amounting to P10 million or 50 percent of the total P20 million Yulo is about to receive from the national government through the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
"Meron daw nga akong matatanggap. Pero wala pa sa mga kamay ko, kaya hindi ko pa alam kung totoo o hindi,' he said.
Yulo will have a two-month rest after which, according to Castaneda they will begin to train again.
He also assured Yulo will be back to defend his two Olympic gold medals four years from now.
"Oo (lalaban pa) hanggang 2028. LA Olympics," said Castaneda.
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