Former PBA head coach Chito Victolero is now the man in charge of the Mapua Cardinals in NCAA men’s basketball.
The ex-Magnolia Hotshots tactician replaced Randy Alcantara, who was given the pink slip back in January even after leading the team to the title in Season 100, ending the school’s 33-year championship drought.
Now, the 50-year-old former Cardinal will take over, bringing with him nine years of head coaching experience in the PBA, highlighted by a championship in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. Victolero himself was let go by the Hotshots in July 2025 and was replaced by former Barangay Ginebra San Miguel star LA Tenorio. This allowed Victolero to be part of the Cardinals staff in Season 101.
What Chito Victolero Could Bring to Mapua
Chito Victolero made his mark in the PBA coaching fraternity for his defense-first approach and for instilling a grit-and-grind mindset in his teams. He had the most success coaching the Magnolia Hotshots, whom he turned into a hard-fighting defensive team that made the finals thrice and won it all once.
However, Victolero last led the Hotshots to the finals in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup, where they lost in five games to the TNT Tropang 5G. The former Cardinal’s final years with Magnolia were notably marked by strong starts, only for the team to sputter in the end, earning the Hotshots the infamous “Intro Boys” label.
As Victolero takes over for Mapua, he will likely bring that defense-first approach and turn the Cardinals into a defensive unit that can grind out wins in the trenches.
Chito Victolero Will Have Some Weapons
Notably, Chito Victolero won’t be coming in to a bare cupboard at Mapua, as he will have some talent to work with, even with Season 100 Finals MVP Clint Escamis already out of the lineup. Holdovers such as JC Recto, Yam Concepcion, and Cyrus Nitura are still with the team, and they will likely play a big part in Victolero’s rebuilding plans.
Now, all that’s left for Chito Victolero is to shed the “Intro Boys” label.
