Jose Rizal U on Monday officially announced the appointment of its former player Vergel Meneses as replacement to coach Ariel Vanguardia with a single-minded hope of putting an abrupt end to a long, alarming 37-year NCAA title drought.
“We’re excited to have Vergel Meneses as our new coach," said Jose Rizal president and NCAA Policy Board member Dr. Vince Fabella in a press conference at the Tower Lounge of the JRU campus in Mandaluyong City.
Meneses
“We really need to keep raising the bar and have someone players look up to. He’s in the PBA’s top 25 list, which is no small feat and an amazing feat in fact," he added.
Nicknamed “The Aerial Voyager" for his high-leaping acts, Meneses played for the Bombers from 1986 to 1989 under Kiko Calilan. As new mentor, he would have to deal with matching, if not surpassing Vanguardia’s feat of three Final Four appearances and a runner-up effort last year in four seasons.
The former PBA MVP, who retired in the pros three years ago after leading different teams to several championships, said he hopes to rely on his vast experience as a player and love for the game and the school to make up for his lack of coaching experience.
We really need to keep raising the bar and have someone players look up to (like Meneses). He’s in the PBA’s top 25 list, which is no small feat and an amazing feat in fact. 
– Vince Fabella, JRU president
“I’m nervous and excited," Meneses, whose only coaching stint was when he agreed to become one of coach Allan Gregorio’s assistants at Burger King in the PBL early this year, said in accepting his new job.
Paul Supan, Jose Rizal’s representative to the Management Committee, said Meneses will coach the Bombers in the next three years starting in the Champions League this month.
“First, we would like to thank coach Ariel (Vanguardia) for a wonderful job the past four years," said Supan. “But management decided to move on a different direction."
Ricky Alcantara, Vic Escudero, Jun Tiongco, Nat Gregorio and American conditioning coach Dan Rose comprise the coaching staff of Meneses, who officially took over Monday after holding team practice early in the morning.
Under Meneses, the Bombers should be a force next year since they would lose only James Sena, Mark Cagoco and John Agas to graduation while expecting to absorb Light Bombers Loui Vigil, the reigning NCAA high school MVP, Joshua Saret and John Yasa.
– GMANews.TV
