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The next time Vietnam faces the Philippines in men's basketball, they may not be so easy to beat anymore. In fact, they may show up with some of our own tricks. On Tuesday, Vietnam appointed a new head coach to accelerate the improvement of their men's national basketball program.

The new mentor is a Filipino. His name is Ricky Magallanes.

Originally, Magallanes a coach in the high school program of De La Salle Greenhills, was sent by the Basketball Association of the Philippines to Vietnam upon their request to find a dynamic young coach to spearhead their young men's basketball program.

Magallanes arrived in Ho Chi Minh City April 20 with no coaching staff, and a language barrier facing him, not to mention simmering hostility from the Vietnamese and Chinese coaches already employed by the national federation there.

"A lot of trials happened since April, since we're not Vietnamese," Magallanes said in an e-mail to THE STAR. It's good thing my assistant coach and my translator are very supportive and work hard to make my work lighter. I really had to start from scratch, because basketball is not that popular here."

Magallaness relates that, although the federation still was not that trusting of his programs and projects, he was still able to win a local championship in his first outing. As a result, his contract was extended and he was promoted earlier this week to head coach of the national men's team, as well. His assistant will be the former head coach, a Vietnamese Chinese named Mr. Minh.

"Next year, I hope to be able to implement the coaching clinics and player clinics I was originally planning." I plan to bring both the men's and young men's teams to the Philippines to improve their skills. It's a little difficult now, because I'm running both teams."

Magallaness isn't the only Filipino coach to makes wave internationally.

Last Monday, members of a group of Filipino coaches - mostly from the high school ranks - returned from a two-moth stint in Malaysia to scout for and train players for AMBAC, the rival group of the Malaysian Basketball Association or MABA.

Beaujing Acot, head coach of the Benedictine International School Tiger Sharks, was the head of the delegation. Acot and company were recommended by Ateneo de Manila head coach Norman Black, who has conducted trainings in Malaysia over the past few years.

October 16, 2005.

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