In his one-season coaching stint with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, former PBA guard Fritz Gaston got an up-close look at a talented young slotman named Danny Francisco, and came away very impressed. He thought the kid had what it took to be not just one of the greats, but even one of the greatest.
To this day, Gaston believes that Francisco had the potential to not just equal but even surpass the accomplishments of Ramon Fernandez, the four-time PBA MVP who many consider to be one of the two best players in PBA history.
"In fact, ako ang unang nagsabi niyan that this guy (Francisco) would be one of the greatest (players) in the PBA. I even dared say he would be better than Fernandez if he had played because one, he's taller at 6-6, ang haba ng mga kamay, very intelligent maglaro, very wily and he can take 15-foot jump shots just like Mon," Gaston said in describing Francisco.
Gaston, then two years removed from an accomplished PBA career, was named head coach in 1988 as replacement for Cris Calilan and was tasked to lead the Blue Eagles in their title defense. It was his first coaching gig.
"Actually ang naisip ko lang talaga who would really be a standout but ironically di naka ano (make it to the PBA) eh si Danny Francisco kasi he had all the elements," Gaston shared on Friday in a conversation on the online show An Eternity of Basketball.
Gaston said he was actually surprised at the skill sets of Francisco, which prompted him to remark that the young slotman could easily surpass Fernandez's exploits in the PBA in the future.
Gaston, who played in the PBA from 1979 to 1986, said he marveled at the dribbling skills of Francisco, which he discovered during one practice when he told him and Eric Reyes, another Ateneo big man, to do the point guard chores.
"One practice, before we played in the National Seniors, pinag-guard ko si Eric Reyes and si Danny, sa White and Blue teams sila. Sabi ko, 'Danny, point guard ka sa Blue, Eric, point guard ka sa White," recounted Gaston.
"Una ayaw nila magsimula, akala nila I was kidding, but I told them, 'Let's go!' At dun ko nakita na Danny can dribble the ball, he could bring the ball down and fast, he can dribble court to court kahit may bantay," he added.
During those days, Gaston said big men rarely dribbled well, being confined to defending the painted area and controlling the boards.
During an international club competition, Gaston remembered how Francisco held his own against taller South Korean players.
"We played the national team of Korea and he was in the mythical five. Kalaban niya mga selection clubs like four of the Koreans were from the national team," he shared. "Kinakaya niya yun to get the rebounds. He was skinny but he was wily."
Though Francisco's stock rose during Ateneo's back-to-back UAAP championships, a routine check-up before the beginning of the 1989 season revealed he had a heart problem. The heart issue was deemed serious, thus putting an abrupt end to what could have been a fruitful PBA career.
Learning from the best
Gaston considered himself blessed to have played under legendary coaches Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan in college and the PBA and Tommy Manotoc in the pros during his playing career.
Both coaches own the distinction of winning Grand Slam titles in the PBA, with both achieving it with Crispa.
Dalupan, who authored the PBA's first-ever Grand Slam title in the 1976 season with Crispa, was Gaston's first coach with the Blue Eagles in 1974, while Manotoc, who pulled off the trick in 1983, coached Gaston and U/Tex to the 1980 Open Conference title that was capped by their historic 16-second comeback in the deciding Game 5.
From Dalupan, Gaston said he learned to adopt the match-up approach.
"I had the advantage of absorbing from the different coaches. And kay Dalupan, I got (to learn to use) the match-up kaya kami nag-champion," explained Gaston.
"Kinausap ko na yung 1988 team (in the Finals). I told them all 12 players are going to play. No one will be benched and you will be matching up mentally para prepared na sila," he stressed.
Gaston said this ploy kept the last player on the bench focused for the entire 40 minutes of the match since they knew that any time their number could be called.
"I told them, "Don't let me get up and call you.' Ganun ako kasi alam mo na ang game plan natin, I said. Why did I do that? Para lahat sila manonood."
"So if lahat kayo lalaro, whether one minute, one hour, basta every time you're in there, give 120 percent kaya lahat sila nanonood," explained Gaston.
While Dalupan's coaching style taught him to be better tactically, Gaston said the human relations side of Manotoc was something he learned during his brief stint under the champion coach.
"From Tommy naman, I would consult with the players and talk to them as a person. If I see them na may problem, I was like a big brother to them or being fatherly. Kinakausap ko sila," he said.
"But I was also very strict, a disciplinarian also because I had to harden them."
Tough coaching style
His tough, disciplinarian approach to coaching almost led Gaston to drop star point guard Gilbert "Jun" Reyes from the team.
"Kasi I wasn't watching (UAAP then) because I was focused on (post-graduate) AIM (Asian Institute of Management). I didn't know they were champion till I came in so when I saw them practice, I said, 'Magaling ito (team)'. I had the materials like si Danny, si Alex (Araneta) at Eric," said the 63-year-old former PBA guard.
"But I didn't know their caliber, at parang meron silang ere dahil champion (from the previous year) which I broke kasi ang akin was just easy. Ang sabi ko lang sa management na ang philosophy ko, basketball is (played by) five guys," explained Gaston. "You can't just have one or two stars to lead. It's got to be five players so during training, I will break them apart and I'd say, kung sino ang mag-star star I will take him out of the team."
To test his seriousness, one Ateneo player asked him if he would really do that, even if the player would be Reyes?
"(I said) sino ba iyan? If he acts as a star, I will take him out. I tried taking him out during the season because he missed one practice," he recalled.
Reyes, who would go on to win multiple PBA titles including a Grand Slam in 1996 with Alaska, skipped the weights training one morning, according to Gaston.
"Because I go to work in the morning, may program ako. And every other day sila (may weights training) at Ateneo gym. So pagdating ko ng gabi, (I usually ask kung) sino ang nag-practice sa umaga. And that time they were caught off-guard," he shared.
Reyes admitted skipping practice and Gaston let him do the dreaded "planting rice" drill for one hour at the Ateneo gym.
"Kasi yun ang hate nila. So yun ang pinagawa ko, one hour na planting rice. And if you miss the time, ulit uli," added Gaston, who in recent years served as commissioner for the Games and Amusement Board.
Eventually, everyone bought into Gaston's philosophy as his disciplinarian approach worked wonders for Ateneo, whose players were well-conditioned for the season.
With their sharp form, the Blue Eagles finished the two-round eliminations with a 12-2 card to book a seat in the championship round, where they held a twice-to-beat advantage. Jun Reyes led the way for Ateneo with 19 points, while Eric Reyes added 15 as the Blue Eagles soared for a 76-70 win over bitter rivals De La Salle Green Archers.
Gaston played a total of 284 games in the PBA and owns career per-game averages of 6.2 points and 3.9 assists.