Cholo Villanueva: Different system, same spirit

Former basketball players becoming coaches is nothing new in this day and age. With the skills, plays, and techniques they’ve learned over the years of grinding it out on the hardwood, it would only be natural that these players would eventually try their hand at coaching. Whether it be in the professional or amateur ranks, it’s actually quite hard to find coaches that didn’t play competitive hoops in their younger years.

Enter DLSU’s basketball program, which happens to be among those that hold this practice. Green Archers head coach Juno Sauler was a member of the squad in the 90s before taking over the reigns in UAAP Season 76. His predecessor, Gee Abanilla, also went through the same path before moving on to coach the PBA’s San Miguel Beermen. On the other hand, former Lady Archers head coach Tyrone Bautista was also teammate of Sauler, while Bautista’s successor, Cholo Villanueva, is no stranger to the school as well.

Remembered for being the vital cog on the 2007 UAAP Season 70 Championship team, Villanueva has ascended to become the head coach of the Lady Archers after Bautista left at the start of the year. He comes in not only with the winning tradition of being a Green Archer but he is also armed with the experience of being a part of the coaching staff of various teams from different levels as well. He admits that he’s excited and motivated with the challenge of inheriting a team that last won the championship in Season 76.

“We want to be always competitive in whatever we do,” he explains. “So it’s the winning mentality I think I want to bring to the Lady Archers.”

Familiar yet unique approach

With regards to his approach to the Lady Archers, Villanueva will look to a prominent figure in his life, his former college coach Franz Pumaren. The multi-titled mentor was his coach during his playing years, and had even spent time on the bench with him during his stint with the Shopinas.com Clickers, now known as the NLEX Road Warriors.

“I learned everything from him,” Villanueva says, adding that Pumaren was like a second father to him. “I spent more time here in school and in training than at home. His guidance influenced me to go into the coaching career.”

It’s this influence that Villanueva will put at the core of his coaching philosophy — of course with his own personal tweaks as well.

However, Villanueva believes that in handling the Lady Archers, he has to have a different approach compared to how one would handle the Green Archers.

“Actually, for women, you need to be more detailed on how you coach them and about instructions,” he explains. “For example, you tell them the purpose of the drills. What the purpose of this movement [is]. With the men’s team kasi, you just tell them where to go and what to do, and they’ll follow. The women’s team is more detailed; it’s more step by step.”

Winning mentality

When asked about what the Lady Archers can expect from him, Villanueva mentions the winning mentality he carried with him whenever he took to the court. Except for Season 69, which was the year La Salle was suspended due to eligibility issues, every team he was on made the Final Four berth, with Season 66 being the only season they failed to advance to the finals after falling to Ateneo in the semifinals. It is this consistency the 2007 co-Finals MVP wants to carry over to the squad for the seasons to come.

“Before, we [the Green Archers] always had a winning culture,” the Educational Psychology major recounts, adding that they were always in the finals because they always set placing in the Final Four as a minimum. “We want to win every possession, we want to win every game. We want to be always competitive in whatever we do. So it’s the winning mentality I think I want to bring to the Lady Archers.”

Though he is known for his achievements on the court, Villanueva has been rising through the coaching ranks and has finally come full circle. As the father figure of the team, he’s not looking to focus just on the X’s and O’s but he’s also hoping to be a good mentor off the court as well.

“We want to be holistic in our approach, not only on a basketball court but also off [the] basketball court,” he says.