For former Far Eastern University Tamaraws head coach Nash Racela and alumnus Roger Pogoy, Raymar Jose’s inclusion to Gilas Pilipinas was just a question of when.
So when coach Chot Reyes added the 6-foot-4 bruiser to the Gilas cadets pool on Friday afternoon, Racela and Pogoy were not at all surprised.
“Alam naman namin yun eh, dati pa e,” quipped Pogoy, who is also one of Jose’s closest friends.
“Well, he’s deserving,” added Racela, who won the UAAP Season 78 championship with Jose.
“Number one, because he has experience sa SEABA where he played with us and maganda naman performance niya doon. And after that, maganda pinakita niya sa UAAP and sa D-League.”
The kicker that pushed for Jose’s addition was his stint with ABL club team Kaohsiung Truth, according to Racela.
“I think ang crucial was his experience also sa ABL playing against bigger guys,” Racela opined.
All throughout his young career, Jose can be best described as a “garbage man”, cleaning up the mess while performing even if there are no set plays called for him. And it’s Jose’s willingness to sacrifice his body that will be his asset as fights for his spot in the pool.
“Alam mo naman si Raymar, ang puhunan niya is his effort, so I think that would really help the program,” the 45-year-old mentor shared about the native of Pontevedra, Negros Occidental.
“Just looking at him, everyday in practice, [if] he’s able to succeed and be part of the team eventually then I think yun pa rin ang mabibigay niya doon.”
Pogoy even likened Jose’s energy to what Calvin Abueva brings to the National Team.
“Yung hustle niya at yung hard work,” declared Pogoy, who was teammates with Jose for five years.
“Yun din yung kailangan namin e, yung parang Abueva ang datingan. Yun ang larong Pinoy kasi.”
And with five of his former FEU student-athletes in the pool — namely Jose, Pogoy, Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia, and Russel Escoto — Racela could not help but beam like a proud father.
“We will always be proud of them.
“They come from a program na everything was not given to them on a silver platter. Lahat pinaghirapan nila nung nasa FEU sila,” asserted Racela, who now handles the TNT Katropa.
“As a coach, nakakataba ng puso ‘pag nakikita mo sila na nasa Gilas na.”
