Often busy holding onto his laptop during the games, Jaren Jarencio revealed how a 'secret weapon' has been helping the Colegio de San Juan de Letran — the only unbeaten team in the NCAA Season 97.
Jarencio, the son of legendary basketball coach Pido, shared that as the Knights' designated person for scouting, one of his tasks is to spot the players' lapses on the court for the coaches to review and make the necessary adjustments for.
While the game is happening, Jarencio would watch the games live via livestream on YouTube in order for him to edit and splice the clips. These clips, though, aren't saved for later.
Letran head coach Bonnie Tan and his staff review these clips in real-time, during timeouts, and at halftime.
"Ang ginagawa kasi namin ay naka-on the fly video analytics kami. So ibig sabihin, lahat ng mga mali during the course of the game, na-e-edit ko 'yun, ini-splice ko siya tapos pag timeouts ina-adjust namin," Jarencio told GMA News Online.
"Pinapakita ko sa mga players and coaches para alam namin 'yung mga mali namin na kailangan naming i-adjust."
According to Jarencio, the tool that he's been using is being widely used by NBA teams and when he got the chance to learn the technique in one NBA Clinic, he quickly applied it in Letran.
"Secret weapon lang 'yon," quipped Jarencio, who also serves the same role for PBA's NorthPort, which is being coached by his father.
"Nag-seminar ako sa isang NBA clinic tungkol sa scouting. Sa NBA ginagawa nila 'yan pero inadapt ko lang. Sa PBA, sa NorthPort ginagawa ko rin 'yon."
It's a big edge he's able to provide to Tan and his coaching system, which has been one of the biggest reasons for the Knights' 9-0 campaign heading into the Final Four.
"'Yung system pa rin ni coach Bonnie 'yan eh," Jarencio, who started out as a video coordinator in the PBA way back 2015 before joining Letran in 2018, added.
"Feeling ko nakatulong lang ako kasi hindi ka na nanghuhula kasi nasa tape na eh. Hindi ka na maghihintay ng halftime or end of the game, sa timeout pa lang alam mo na 'yung mga errors."
Asked why he opted for a laptop, Jarencio shared: "Sa NBA kasi more on tablets sila, pero nahihirapan ako mag-splice 'pag tablet eh kasi kailangan ng keyboard so kaya laptop 'yung gamit ko."
—JMB, GMA News
