Veteran coach Louie Alas has been thrown into the fire. An assistant coach with the Ateneo Blue Eagles over the past couple of years, the 62‑year‑old mentor now finds himself as the man in charge after an unfortunate series of events resulted in the resignation of long‑time head coach Tab Baldwin.
That series of events reverberated across the Filipino sporting landscape as it saw two young student‑athletes lose their lives in the most tragic of ways. And, in the wake of it, Louie Alas apparently was ready to give up his coaching spot at Ateneo—until he was asked to stay.
“Nung mangyari ’yung incident, I’m ready to go kasi alam naman natin ’yung command responsibility,” Alas admitted during a media scrum on the sideline of the UAAP Season 89 presser held on Monday. “But when one of the priests approached me kung okay lang ba kong temporary coach, sabi ko, ‘Father, wala sa personality ko ’yung magba‑backdown sa mga challenges. And nung nakita ko ’yung mga player, paano mo iiwan ’yun?’”
Long story short, Ateneo asked Louie Alas to stay. And he did.
Louie Alas Accepts the Challenge
So, from near‑retirement, the long‑time coach is now facing arguably his biggest challenge yet: winning while also bringing stability and credibility back into a program plunged into a nightmare crisis that resulted in tragedy, unanswered questions, police investigations, broken trust, and a circus in social media. Alas could’ve walked away from all that and found peace. Instead, he chose to accept what he describes as both destiny and God’s plan.
“Sabi ko nga sa inyo, ready to go na ’ko, ready to retire, pero with that situation, tingin ko walang coach na aalis,” he added. “Destined siguro na nandito ko dahil sabi ko nga sa inyo, assistant coach na lang ang inaano ko, ayoko na mag‑head coach. But talagang binigay ng Diyos, and I’m ready to accept the challenge.”
There’s no doubt Louie Alas has the coaching pedigree to overcome such a big challenge. And how he steers Ateneo through what promises to be rocky terrain throughout Season 89 will no doubt be among the major storylines of this upcoming UAAP basketball tournament, which will tip off on Sunday, September 13, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alas and his Blue Eagles begin their season on Wednesday, September 16, when they take on the UE Red Warriors at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
