A long-time assistant coach to Boris Aldeguer for over 18 years, new De La Salle Zobel head coach Gian Nazario could have easily relied on familiarity in leading the Junior Archers’ rebuild this UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament.
But eager to snap a six-season Final Four drought, Nazario feels determined to draw inspiration not only from the system he helped nurture at Zobel, but also from a coaching philosophy echoed loudly at Taft with Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament champion De La Salle University.
Beyond the X’s and O’s, Nazario is modeling his mentoring style on the leadership of two-time UAAP men’s basketball champion coach Topex Robinson: find joy in the process and pair it with the utmost patience.
“Being under Coach Topex’s staff, sometimes you have to set aside the X’s and O’s. It’s just really more of, you know, being open to these guys,” Nazario said following the Junior Archers’ opening-day win against the UPIS Fighting Maroons last Sunday, January 11, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
“They’re kids. They’re going to make mistakes.”
Moving on from Kieffer Alas and coping with Bonn Daja missing Season 88 due to an injury, Nazario knows wins will be hard to come by for a youthful DLSZ core of Maco Dabao, Kio Favis, and Champ Arejola against contenders like University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University-Diliman, and National University Nazareth School.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
But much like Robinson’s approach in guiding the Green Archers to two UAAP men’s basketball championships in the last three years, Nazario firmly believes that culture-building must always come before contention.
“And at the end of the day, if you just guide them through it, doon naman lalabas yung laro nila ‘eh. At the end of the day, it’s just basketball. Sabi nga ni Coach Topex, kailangan may joy at kailangan nandoon yung saya sa basketball. I think it showed today, we were able to distribute the ball well, we had 23 assists,” Nazario emphasized.
“The news about Kieffer and then we had injuries. They didn’t really dwell on it too much. I think they deserve a lot of credit. The boys deserve a lot of credit for, you know, turning the page and thinking about it as an opportunity for them to step up. So, moving forward, sa mga games namin na dadating, I just really bank on them playing together as a team.”
As the Junior Archers aim to turn the page after the Aldeguer era, Nazario is ready to grind for the chance to write his own story with DLSZ — one that honors the past while embracing the lessons of the present.
If Robinson’s influence is any indication, the Junior Archers’ road toward the highly contested summit of UAAP boys’ basketball will rest on three critical pillars: joy, patience, and belief.
“For me, more than turning a page, it’s just really having a new book. I told the team yesterday that it’s about time for them to write their own stories. Again, I’m just excited for these guys this coming season. I’m just hoping that we take it one game at a time,” he said.
“Take one game at a time, whether it’s a win or a loss. Ang importante lang is going back to our growth mindset and playing together.”
