As Sean Chambers made his coaching debut as head coach of Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, he enacted a unique way of putting up signals for plays.
Instead of using hand signals, Chambers and his staff were giving the Tamaraws instructions by using placards that contained various images, one of which showed NBA superstar Trae Young.
It was definitely a sight to behold because of its uniqueness and it could set a precedent for other coaches and teams to follow suit.
“If you watch American Football, especially in college, it’s one of the things they do because of the sound of the crowd and the noise,” explained the six-time PBA champion. “If we’re trying to run a play for a specific player, and they can’t hear me, we put up a sign and they all know what that sign is.
“We have a play that’s actually called ‘Trae Young,’ so there’s a big picture of Trae Young. We have a play that’s called ‘Portland’ so there’s the Portland Trailblazers symbol. And then everything else that we run,” he continued.
“It’s just something that will help everybody understand because my goal is, when we’re running the play, running the set – we all know what we’re doing, especially when we’re trying to get to a specific player.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
When teams scout each other, it is normal for them to list down each other’s hand signs. This time around, because of the size of the placards and the noteworthy images used, it may be easier for the seven UAAP schools to study how FEU runs its plays.
Despite this possibility, the Alaska Aces legend isn’t worrying about his counterparts easily scouting his team. As an American, he is well-versed in the controversial act of sign stealing in his country.
“We will change it up,” said Chambers. “We were running ‘Trae Young’ [but] we may come up with a different sign next time. We’ll change the name of the play. In the States, when people steal the signs, it becomes a big deal like with University of Michigan football.
“If you think about the States and especially the college level, they use multiple signs so they don’t actually know which sign they’re using. It’s something that I think would be beneficial here, especially if we get on a winning streak and we start the gym like it was yesterday.”
Chambers stated that the FEU coaching staff will continue to use this method throughout the season.
For him, it’s about prioritizing his players’ understanding of what he wants them to do rather than worrying about what others are doing.
One thing that may come soon, though, is the Tamaraws implementing offensive sets based on placards that show Chambers’ fellow icons in Philippine basketball.
“I’m sure we’ll have a ‘Johnny A’ play out there and a ‘Jojo Lastimosa’,” said the California native.
“Maybe a Jeffrey Cariaso when we run our ‘Jet’ play. So we’ll use some of those guys, but we gotta keep the other coaches on their toes and not give them all of our secrets.”
