After a rollercoaster off-season, the defending NCAA Seniors Basketball champions may have finally found the guy to lead them in the NCAA Season 91 campaign.
According to a reliable source, National University Bullpups head coach Jeff Napa is the leading candidate to take the coveted job of coaching the 395-year-old institution’s senior basketball team.
With former Letran head coach Aldin Ayo taking lead assistant coach Glenn Capacio with him to Taft, Letran has interviewed various coaches to find the coach that could run the school’s basketball program in the long term.
Napa pictured behind Gelo Alolino during National University’s UAAP Season 77 campaign
A Tiebreaker Times source said that Napa was not in attendance at in the NU MBT’s practice session Monday morning, to accommodate an interview with Letran officials. The source added that the meeting ended on a high note, and the school’s officials were impressed with what Napa will bring to the table for the Letran basketball program.
However, the source also added that Letran officials have set an interview with Monch Gavieres sometime today. Currently part of the Alaska Aces staff, Gavieres is a wildcard in the race as he is an alumnus of Letran. As of publishing, though, Napa is still the leading candidate for the job.
Napa is credited for leading the resurgence of National University’s juniors basketball program. Prior to the 73rd season of the UAAP, the Bullpups had been the cellar-dwellers of the tournament. With Napa at the helm, NU’s JBT reached two second place finishes (UAAP Season 75 and 77) and two championships (UAAP Season 74 and 76). Currently, the Bullpups are plowing through the competition in the UAAP Season 78 Juniors Basketball Tournament with a perfect 11-0 slate. Moreover, his system has produced a number of blue-chip recruits, including Ateneo’s Hubert Cani, La Salle’s Mark Dyke, UE’s Philip Manalang, and current Bullpups Justin Baltazar and John Lloyd Clemente
The National University alumnus is also part of the coaching staff of Eric Altamirano in the school’s men’s basketball team.
