Seventeen years since he first helmed the bench, Chito Victolero has returned home — not just to coach, but to chase that very important jewel that has been missing in his crown.

Yes, the former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) champion coach had returned to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to guide his former school, Mapua University, as it tries to regain the title while fulfilling a personal mission.

For the 50-year-old mentor, the decision to return to the NCAA after more than a decade of PBA stint was something that he embraced immediately.

“Actually, at first, I wasn’t really interested because I wasn’t thinking of going back to college after coaching in the pros for 12 years,” said the amiable Victolero during his guesting at Off the Court last Thursday.

“Then, I thought that the trend is now different. College basketball is now different — it’s no longer about coaching. It’s also now about running a program and developing the young players.”

“But after consulting my family, my former teammates and former coaches, I decided to go back to college. I’m grateful and thankful to Mapua because they still accepted me.”

Victolero said coaching Mapua — the team that suffered more than three decades of title drought before winning the Season 100 crown and losing it again the following year — will never be easy.

“Yeah, I’m really excited. At the same time, there’s some pressure because I need to form a team, and our preparation is a bit late. But I still have time to develop my players and improve the system of my remaining players,” said Victolero, who will be replacing his former college teammate, Randy Alcantara.

“I’m very excited to be back here at my alma mater after 17 years. The last time I coached here was from 2009 to 2012.”

Coaching pedigree

A native of San Rafael, Bulacan, Victolero first joined the Cardinals in 1992 — the year after they won a breakthrough NCAA title.

He failed to lead Mapua to the title as San Sebastian College, bannered by superstars Rommel Adducul, Banjo Calpito, Rommel Daep, Brixter Encarnacion and Ulysses Tanigue, had ruled the league with an iron hand, winning five straight titles from 1993 to 1997.

Later, Victolero played for current San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua at Stag Pale Pilsen in the defunct Philippine Basketball League, where he won four titles.

When he turned pro, he joined San Juan Knights in the Metropolitan Basketball Association, winning three titles, before jumping to the PBA with Sta. Lucia tapping him as its 13th pick in the 2022 draft.

It was his three-year stint in the PBA that would be a crucial factor to his future as a coach.

‘We just want to be competitive and improve every day. I just started on Monday and we’re still getting to know each other — the system, the philosophy and the culture that we want to build here.’

Although he didn’t win any title, it was a catalyst for what’s to come as he was able to learn from some of the most brilliant minds in Philippine basketball.

He used that knowledge to call the shots for Mapua in 2009. He led the Cardinals to one Final Four appearance in 2010 but had a forgetable stint in the next two years, prompting him to step down before his contract expired.

From the NCAA, he started his PBA coaching stint as a deputy for Kia, now known as Terrafirma from 2014 to 2016. But it would be his head coaching stint in Magnolia in 2016 that gave him a breakthrough.

With the likes of Mark Barroca, PJ Simon and Ian Sanggalang, Victolero won the PBA Governors’ Cup title in 2018, where Hotshots defeated Alaska in six games.

“Coach Tim (Cone), coach Leo (Austria), even coach Yeng (Guiao) and coach Norman (Black), who used to be my coach at Sta. Lucia, they have been my inspiration in coaching, so I don’t want to say I beat them all, but it’s just that I was blessed to win this (a championship and this award),” said Victolero, a one-time winner of the PBA Coach of the Year award.

“They are our idols.”