At this point in time, coach Chico Ogot Manabat has gone full circle in his NCAA basketball career. In 1992-1995, he played in the NCAA for the San Sebastian Staglets. After joining other leagues as player, and later as coach, he joined Arellano University as head coach of the AU Chiefs, which competes in the NCAA.
Coach Chico has 14 years of coaching experience at the National University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Centro Escolar University. Given his experiences, when offered the position as Head Coach of the AU Chiefs, he decided to take the team as a family, where each player accepts that he is a student first and a player, second.
To better manage the group, he cut down the size of the team from 67 players to only 37. He initiated ways that allowed him to deal with each player individually, discussing play issues, and even personal matters such as dressing properly when not in playing uniform. Matters of this nature are not too hard for him because establishing relationship with players is present, even in his home, since he is married to a famous and very disciplined player, Dindin Santiago Manabat who is a member of the Philippine National Volleyball team.
Coach Chico has been with the AU Chiefs basketball team for only a few months, but already, the culture he wants to uphold is already bearing fruits.
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