The Fireman and his Batang Pier

I never really got to watch the "real" Pido Jarencio. The man, the legend, the UST Glowing Goldie and PBA "Fireman" whose shooting was almost (legend has it) at par as PBA Hall of Famer Allan Caidic.

Instead, my mental image of Jarencio was a short-shorts wearing veteran who would come in to either spell a winded Vince Hizon or Jayvee Gayoso and knock down a "legs wide open" three from the corners every now and then for Barangay Ginebra in the mid-90s. He was out of basketball shape, appeared to be on his last legs, but was just a feel-good favorite because he looked like someone I'd bump into in pick-up games (you know, that village vet who is always hanging by the playground waiting, preying on the young ones).

When he finally retired and resurfaced as a head coach in college, it was during my 2nd year with the Black-Gold, Black-White. He took a team of several unheralded wingmen and a center to the Finals, much to the surprise of the college ranks (and every single Thomasian who weren't expecting much post-Cyrus Baguio and Alwin Espiritu or better yet, post-Aric del Rosario).

My graduation plus a few years later, there was Jarencio with maybe B+ recruits storming into the UAAP Finals in two consecutive years which is a lot easier said than done, championship or not.

These days, Jarencio has moved on and "graduated" from his collegiate coaching tour to man the GlobalPort Batang Pier bench. At his disposal are former San Miguel Beer superstars Alex Cabagnot and Jay Washington, plus promising rookies Terrence Romeo, R.R. Garcia and Justin Chua.

Throw in a few hard-nosed players like Jondan Salvador, Marvin Hayes, Kelly Nabong and shooters Mark Macapagal and Bonbon Custodio, and you're looking at quite a formidable line-up specially if and when power forward/ center Enrico Villanueva makes his triumphant return from injury.

It's hard to determine how good/bad the Batang Pier are at the moment because of the import-centric offensive/defensive philosophy followed by teams this PBA Commissioner's Cup. So far, we've noticed the heavy minutes given Cabagnot, Washington and import Evan Brock which shows that Jarencio is committed to putting the best product on the hard court as much as possible.

Our only concern though is that when Cabagnot plays point with Washington and Brock as forwards, it forces the young Chua and/ or undersized Salvador to play the five spot which is where the bulk of the imports this conference are. Why the team didn't opt for a bigger, more traditional post man as an import is something we leave up to Jarencio et. al.

There's also the Romeo factor. We all know he's THAT good a basketball talent. We'd love for him to take it to the next level and just learn to play off the ball with Cabagnot and get to his sweet spots. Cabagnot, for all his "flaws," is an excellent "finder" of the open man and more than willing passer.

For Jarencio's sake, we hope that Batang Pier owner "Boss" Mikee Romero stays patient and allows the team to jell and grow under their new head coach.

We're still waiting for the team's first win, if only to hear Jarencio at the post game press table and hit us with his (in)famous "Pido-isms."