Ateneo lifer Bacon Austria takes on the challenge of leading the Blue Eagles’ high school basketball program back to glory.
Twenty years after leading Ateneo to glory in high school basketball, Bacon Austria is back to where it all began in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament.
Following the departure of Ford Arao, Austria was named head coach of the Blue Eagles’ 19-under team, which was a full-circle moment that came in the form of an unexpected opportunity.
Speaking to The GAME in an exclusive interview, Austria shared that he was ready to step away from coaching to focus on his full-time job with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), only for Ateneo to offer the 19-under coaching job around June to July last year.
“It’s overwhelming. Masaya kasi I was telling everyone I was done coaching actually. I quit coaching at the start of [last] year, and I left the women’s team,” said Austria, who was a part of LA Mumar’s staff in the Ateneo women’s basketball team.
“Pero when this was offered to me the high school coaching job where I came from, there was a lot of thinking because I had the work already…Ako talaga, I wanted to do it and I had to make a lot of sacrifices actually to get this coaching job and right now I’m here.”
Fortunately, the SBP was supportive of Austria’s homecoming, even allowing him to miss office days and file for early outs in order to establish his presence within the Blue Eagles’ dugout.
“So lumapit si Ateneo, and I said hindi ako sure kasi I have a job; I’m not sure if they will allow me so I have to leave early,” Austria recalled. “Practices are in Ateneo at 5 P.M., then my office is in Mandaluyong, so it won’t work time-wise. Traffic pa sa Manila and I have to drive from Mandaluyong to Ateneo.”
“So I have to leave early, then pinayagan ako…my boss supported me also and that’s how it panned out.”
More than the unexpected homecoming, leading Ateneo’s 19U program is also a step out of Austria’s comfort zone, given that much of his coaching experience have come from being a deputy.
Being a head coach, Austria says, comes with a larger sense of responsibility, as his final say can make or break his team’s chances.
“It’s harder, you make all the decisions, and your decisions affect everyone, the whole team. Hindi ganon kalayo [as an assistant], pero mas mahirap talaga. Iba-iba ‘yung head coaching, more stress, and every decision you make affects everyone,” he said.
Handling a team of high schoolers is also an entirely different experience for Austria, which he’s responded to by balancing warmth, and “teaching them to be adults”.
“I used to have a college team as an assistant coach. But I teach them to be adults, though, and I think some of them are turning 18 or are 18 already. So I try to teach them to be adults, but at the back of my head also, I remind myself these are kids, minors also.”
“So it’s a different kind of teaching, and if you notice, I rarely shout at them, I rarely get mad during the game. It’s the same at practice.”
‘The game has changed’
With Ateneo last making the Final Four in Season 82 (2020), Bacon Austria admits that the high school game has long changed. Just look at the past three seasons alone, where foreign student-athletes (FSA) have been introduced in juniors’ competition.
Still, even if the game continues to grow, Austria is confident that his past mentors have equipped him with the necessary skills to adapt as a head coach.
“I think I stick with the materials I have, the players I have. So that’s what I do right now, and to be honest, my plays are from all the coaches I had. From Coach Jamike [Jarin], to my dad [San Miguel Beermen head coach Leo Austria], to Coach Norman [Black], some from Coach Tab [Baldwin], and from Coach Sandy [Arespacochaga],” Austria said.
“I use what’s applicable in that game, or the philosophies that are applicable to the players or to the team. So this is a product of all the coaches I had, the people I worked with. Siguro, you can call me a copycat, but I used different things that could apply to the team.”
At the same time, Austria’s transition has been made easier by his predecessors, with Arao and Reggie Varilla planting the seeds through their respective recruits.
“They were the ones who started the recruitment here. I think Jay [M Leal] was from Coach Reggie, and the other guys, mostly this team is from Coach Ford. So I’m very grateful for them,” he said.
While the championship aspirations remain, Bacon Austria chooses to focus on the present with Ateneo, taking it day-by-day as they try to re-establish their place in the UAAP’s high school hoops landscape.
“Syempre, the goal is to win one game at a time, one game at a time, eventually go to the final, for eventually, hopefully, we make the championship, eventually win it all. It’s hard,” he said.
“The game has changed. Sobrang talented ng players. So, anyone, I believe that anyone can be…[first seed to sixth seed], [first seed to seventh seed] teams could easily be close to each other, beat each other. Talagang grabe ‘yung talent and ‘yung teams this year.”
Images by Excel Panlaque/KLIQ Inc.