Renato Agustin, one of the Philippine Basketball Association’s 25 Greatest Players, has completed a Cinderella Finish for the San Sebastian Stags when he steered his team to an upset win over grand slam-seeking San Beda Lions in the NCAA finals.
Ato Agustin receives his trophy as Best Coach after steering San Sebastian to the NCAA title recently.

The player known as “The Atom Bomb" was a big revelation in his young coaching career, surprising many coaches in the country.

But not fellow champion bench tactician Norman Black of UAAP champions Ateneo.

Black, who drafted Agustin in the 1989 Rookie Draft and transformed the pride of Pampanga into an integral part of the Beermen’s rare grand slam squad that same year, believes his former ward and teammate has earned his spurs in the annals of the game.

“I drafted him in 1989 and I knew exactly what Ato can do for our team. We played together for two years as I was playing as coach/import until 1990," Black told GMANews.TV. “As far as becoming a good coach, I wasn’t surprised as Ato played with great coaches in the PBA."

Black and Agustin will share the spotlight in the 2009 Smart Sports Collegiate Basketball Dinner-Awards Party on Sunday at the Kamayan Edsa. The former teammates will be feted as co-Coach of the Year by the UAAP-NCAA Press Corps.

Black steered the Ateneo Eagles to a back-to-back UAAP crown, the first for the school since the Danny Francisco-lead crew did the feat in 1987-88.


Norman Black gets the traditional victory right after leading Ateneo to back-to-back UAAP titles recently.

The multi-titled Black powered the Eagles to a near immaculate record in the 72nd UAAP season. Their lone defeat in the elims came at the hands of the upset-conscious University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. The Eagles capped their season-long brilliance with a 2-1 win over the University of the East Warriors in the finals.

Like Black, Agustin and his Stags had an amazing winning streak. They coasted to a 15-0 mark – a new record - before suffering back-to-back losses. But Agustin’s crew stayed tough in the homestretch and dethroned the San Beda Lions with a 2-0 finals romp.

Agustin, meanwhile, is the first bench tactician since University of Santo Tomas' Pido Jarencio (2006) to win the coveted award on his maiden campaign.

Previous winners of the award include La Salle's Franz Pumaren and Letran's Louie Alas (2007) and San Beda's Frankie Lim (2008). - GMANews.TV