![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/LOUIE-ALAS.jpg\" "\\"LOUIE")
LOUIE ALAS \u2014 PBA<\/p>\n LOUIE ALAS \u2014 PBA<\/p>\n
IT IS all eyes now on interim head coach Louie Alas with a tall order to steady the ship for the sunken Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) men\u2019s basketball program on the heels of one of the biggest sports tragedies in history following the tragic drowning of its players Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili in Dipaculao, Aurora last June 8.<\/p>\n
With the UAAP finally hammering the verdict on Ateneo with a perpetual ban on resigned head coach Tab Baldwin and the suspension of eight team staff, Mr. Alas is ready to be the man in charge for a new era in Katipunan \u2014 at least for now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still an interim role. We\u2019re still coping and trying to catch up,\u201d Mr. Alas told The STAR on Sunday as Ateneo attempts to get on its feet and pick up the pieces of the embattled program.<\/p>\n
And while his role is not permanent just yet, Mr. Alas\u2019 mettle will be tested way before the UAAP, where the team remains eligible to compete in Season 89 according to the league\u2019s decision last week, as the ADMU Blue Eagles earned a wildcard ticket as the No. 21 seed in the Pinoyliga Big Dance.<\/p>\n
The UAAP, however, whipped resigned head coach Mr. Baldwin with a lifetime ban and suspended team manager Epok Quimpo, assistants Dean Caesar Casta\u00f1o, Sandro Nicholas Romero Soriano, Reynaldo Jacinto, Jr., Hernan Ameer Domingo, Caesar Vincent Javellana Elumba and Grant Dearns alongside physical therapist John Eric Rueca \u201cuntil further determination by the UAAP Board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now at the helm, Mr. Alas\u2019 first order of business is against Our Lady of Fatima Phoenix in Round 1 of the 28-team Pinoyliga field, that fired off over the weekend, on Aug. 16 at the Blue Eagle Gym, hoping to make it a good start for what\u2019s left of the Ateneo coaching staff and roster led by his own son and upcoming rookie Kieffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had no basketball action for more than a month. We\u2019re on our third week now since coming back but there\u2019s still a lot of things to tackle,\u201d added the former PBA and NCAA champion mentor, who notched the services of his former Letran Knights RJ Jazul and Kerby Raymundo as assistant coaches.<\/p>\n
Seasoned deputies Gene Afable and Bacon Austria are also on board with former deputy Nico Salva, a five-time UAAP champion with the Blue Eagles, serving as interim team manager.<\/p>\n
Pinoyliga will be the first game for Ateneo, which is yet to announce its full roster, since a 72-52 debut win against Adamson in the 19th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup last June 6 at the Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan. The Blue Eagles two days later embarked on an unfortunate journey to North Luzon for a camp at the Hermanos Leisure Farm in Dipaculao.<\/p>\n
Since then, Ateneo pulled out of the Filoil tourney and the Japan\u2019s University Top League as part of its supposedly UAAP buildup under four-time champion mentor Mr. Baldwin. \u2014 John Bryan Ulanday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOUIE ALAS \u2014 PBA IT IS all eyes now on interim head coach Louie Alas with a tall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,364870,85],"class_list":["post-849051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-john-bryan-ulanday","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}