Newly-minted University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) juniors champion Manu Iñigo is excited to join College of Saint Benilde as an assistant coach for Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.
In a phone conversation with DAILY TRIBUNE, Iñigo said he will be starting on Tuesday.
Iñigo led University of Santo Tomas (UST) to its first UAAP juniors title in 24 years after beating National University Nazareth School in a best-of-three series.
“I’m starting with them on Tuesday. That’s when we’ll talk about my role,” Iñigo said.
“But based on what we talked about earlier, I will help with the guidance to my players and share experience that I can apply to them to help them offensively and defensively.”
Saint Benilde is coming off a finals appearance in Season 100 where it lost to Mapua University in a best-of-three title series.
Iñigo’s inclusion in the Blazers’ side will only do them wonders.
Apart from being a UAAP champion, Iñigo was also the architect of San Beda University-Rizal’s NCAA title run in 2019.
Blazers Gab Cometa, Justine Sanchez and Tony Ynot were part of Iñigo’s championship-winning Red Cubs squad, boosting their chemistry ahead of NCAA Season 101.
Iñigo assured there won’t be any conflicts with him as his first priority will be with UST.
“We’re not going to compete with each other so there’s no problem,” Iñigo said.
“We talked to Boss Frank Lao and Coach Charles Tiu that if there’s ever a conflict in scheduling, my first priority is UST.”
Tiu is thrilled to add another bright mind in Saint Benilde’s think tank as they eye to end their 25-year wait for an NCAA championship.