Decorated head coach Pat Aquino will serve as Blackwater Elite’s team manager on an interim basis, team owner Dioceldo Sy confirmed to Tiebreaker Times, Sunday.
“Interim manager si Pat Aquino,” wrote Sy in a text message.
Aquino has been with the NU Lady Bulldogs, a team co-managed by Ever Bilena, since 2013.
This comes at the heels of Joel Co’s resignation from the said position. Co decided to leave the post to spend more time with his family, as he told Tiebreaker Times.
Co had his last game with the Elite last Friday, March 22, versus Magnolia Hotshots. He ends a 10-month stint with the team.
“Maraming salamat sa Blackwater Elite sa pag-suporta and at the same time sa kanilang pag-unawa,” expressed Co.
“I think coach Pat is the guy for the position. He is very, very capable.”
Meanwhile, Aquino will not be by his lonesome, as Sy has brought in his son-in-law Jacob Munez to serve as an assistant to the seasoned tactician, who has been with Blackwater since 2014.
“I want Pat to train Jacob,” Sy wrote.
Aquino is aware of the work that has to be done with the Elite. The team is coming off a disappointing 2-9 campaign in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, but he accepts the challenge.
“I hope I can make a difference and a new look for Blackwater Elite,” said Aquino, who’s also the NU Lady Bulldogs’ head coach and the chief bench strategist of Perlas Pilipinas.
