University of the East received an added boost heading to UAAP Season 86 – its hosting year.
Frank Lao, the patriarch of the Lao family, will be the program booster for the university’s boys’ basketball and women’s volleyball programs.
And leading the reforms for both the Junior Warriors and the Lady Warriors is young Jared Lao, the youngest son of Frank.
Jared, who is set to graduate from Ateneo de Manila University, accepts that he is just a neophyte in managing sports teams. But seeing his father handle College of Saint Benilde, his sister Janica forming PVL team Farm Fresh, and brother Jacob multi-task duties with Converge, Letran High School, and Pampanga Royce Hotel inspires him to deliver.
“Honestly, this whole thing is very new to me.
“As with every new experience, I know for a fact that it will not be an easy task, and I will surely face some struggles along the way. But for now, I am currently focused on the present, which is building a winning culture within the team and determining how I can help each individual player reach their maximum potential,” said Jared, who also took a Sports Management course in Ateneo under instructor JR Reyes.
It has been decades since both the Junior Warriors and Lady Warriors even reached the Final Four.
For the boys’ basketball team, their last semi-finals appearance was back in UAAP Season 64.
Meanwhile, the women’s volleyball team did not fare much better, last making the Final Four in Season 69.
Now, he is looking to turn the school’s fortunes around starting with Season 86.
Jared tapped his brother’s former head coach in La Salle Green Hills Karl Santos to be the coach of the Junior Warriors. The school also looks to announce a new women’s volleyball coach later in the day.
“Firstly, I’m very grateful to the UE community for welcoming our group with open arms. I’m also very excited about this opportunity to work with a great group of coaches. We all know that UE has one of the best basketball and volleyball programs in the Philippines,” said Lao, also a golfer during his spare time.
“With that being said, we want to bring back the glory days of the Red Warriors. We are thrilled to assist in the development of young basketball and volleyball players and help them gradually achieve their dreams.”
The Laos are known to turn cellar-dwellers into championship contenders.
College of Saint Benilde’s seniors basketball team has been a contender in the NCAA for the past few years. Meanwhile, the women’s volleyball squad has been dominant.
Letran High School just recently won the NCAA Season 98 crown and has shown no signs of stopping.
And Jared hopes to replicate those feats in UE.
“Like our other teams, we strive for excellence and aim to instill a championship culture. While the wins will come, our goal extends beyond that. We want to help develop our players to become not only great athletes but also outstanding individuals who contribute positively to the community.”
