After 10 years, coach Baculi now living the dream

It took coach Junel Baculi 10 years to prove to all and sundry that he truly belongs to the big leagues. Baculi and his first Philippine Basketball Association team, the new-look Barako Energy Coffee Masters, made an emphatic debut in Sunday’s opening of the Fiesta Conference with a surprising 97-93 win over the usually steady Sta. Lucia at the Araneta Coliseum.

It was the first opening day win for the Photokina franchise since the 2008 Fiesta Conference, but more importantly, it gave the squad a promising outlook despite all the struggles it encountered the previous years. Under Baculi, who was finally given the chance to handle a PBA team as Barako’s head coach, the Energy Coffee Masters came out with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Sam Monroe, a slamdunking sensation from the Mexican League, had an impressive debut game of 39 points and 11 rebounds. But it was Al Vergara who came through with clutch baskets that saved the Energy Coffee Masters from a near endgame collapse. Vergara, a member of the Singapore Slingers squad and one of the three free agents picked up by Barako Energy Coffee, had back-to-back jumpers that shattered the game’s final deadlock and gave the Energy Coffee Masters a 94-88 lead. Baculi waited for a decade to coach in the PBA. He led Welcoat and Hapee Toothpaste to multiple championships in the Philippine Basketball League, but didn’t land a coaching job in the pro league until he was tapped as part of the coaching staff of Yeng Guiao with Burger King last season. “I visualized this, maybe since 10 years ago. Even coaches have dreams, too. I was given the opportunity so I grabbed it. But it’s still a long way to go. This is just the first game and we have 17 more games left," said Baculi, who took over the coaching reins from now consultant Leo Isaac. The Energy Coffee Masters showed a refreshing outlook in their debut game. They shot 53.6% from the field, the highest field goal percentage they had in the past six conferences. “I told my team to keep on working hard because we want to prove something. They want to prove something and I want to prove something as well," said Baculi. - Rey Joble, GMANews.TV