Vanguardia thrilled to fly with Hawks

Ariel Vanguardia is living the dream after getting tapped to be part of the coaching staff of the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Summer League.

In a message to DAILY TRIBUNE, Vanguardia admitted that he is thrilled to join the Hawks and handle quality talents led by 19-year-old Zaccharie Risacher, the top overall pick in the recent NBA Draft.

In fact, Vanguardia is working directly with the 6-foot-9 rising star from France and other young prospects as part of his role as player development coach.

“My role is to work with these young talents, including our top overall pick,” said Vanguardia, who earned the distinction of being the first homegrown Filipino to coach in the Summer League.

“They have a world-class organization over here. From facilities to equipment, food — everything. Everything that a team needs that you can think of, they have it here.”

Vanguardia said the Hawks are taking the Summer League seriously.

“They train twice a day,” he said.

“We flew to Las Vegas on Thursday night and will hold another training before the tournament starts this weekend.”

Working with foreign coaches is nothing new to Vanguardia.

After all, the amiable 51-year-old mentor is regarded as a journeyman after calling the shots at various levels from the Metropolitan Basketball Association to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Philippine Basketball Association and Asean Basketball League.

His last stint was with the Blackwater Bossing, where he called the shots as an interim mentor for two years before being replace by Jeffrey Cariaso last year.

He was hired by the Hawks among a handful of applications from around the world, giving him the golden chance to work with Summer League coach Ron Nored and Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder.

“Coach Quin is always here,” he said.

“Even if he will not serve as our head coach, he’s still giving inputs and guiding us as we prepare to make an impact in the Summer League.”

Vanguardia added that he was supposed to bring in Kai Sotto, the 7-foot-2 youngster who is being groomed to become the first full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA.

Sotto, unfortunately, had to leave with Gilas Pilipinas for Europe for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where he suffered a rib injury in their second game against Latvia.

“Sayang. It could have been a good opportunity for him,” Vanguardia said.