Photo by Jan Dizon, NCAA.

I did not see this coming at all. Neither did you, and if you say you did, you’re lying.

I’m not talking about Ato Agustin’s thinning hairline, or the disappearance of his killer stache, although those are weird too. I’m talking about the Ato Agustin taking over the coaching reins of the San Sebastian Stags and turning them into the best team in Philippine college basketball, highlighted by their sweep of the first round of the NCAA capped by a victory over arch-rival Letran.

It’s really weird. He preaches tough defense and unselfishness – and his team buys it! Apparently, they’ve never seen a tape of him playing, ever. I mean, I watched Ato Agustin carry those hobbled San Miguel teams in the early ‘90s, and I loved it when he led the Pampanga Dragons to the first MBA national title over the Negros Slashers, but he’s really not the guy who has the most credibility when he implores his players to play unselfishly and make the extra pass, is he?

His sideline demeanor is also kind of a surprise. He doesn’t subscribe to the mura philosophy of his former coaches (and fellow Kapampangans) Aric del Rosario and Yeng Guiao, although he gives out instructions in the huddle in English (with a heavy Kapampangan hint) like Guiao.

This time last year, I was taking a long break from work, and I had the opportunity to watch more NCAA games than perhaps anyone not paid to watch them. Agustin took over for a San Sebastian team that lost their best player, 6’7” center Jason Ballesteros, and was left with spare parts. So how did he end up, less than a year later with this juggernaut?

Well, there’s the defense. They play hard all the time, and their pressure defense (actually, a 1-2-2 backcourt trap) is absolutely suffocating. I was surprised at how good their press is; it’s better than the presses by teams like De La Salle and Letran, whose programs have been running pressure defensive schemes for years.

But more importantly, they are playing with swagger, something that Agustin had in no short supply all throughout his career. They were never rattled even when Letran went on a huge run and led by double-figures, or when Rey Guevarra and Kevin Alas made several impossible shots off daredevil drives, or when Letran gunner Jaypee Belencion hit a bunch of three-pointers.

They always knew they could come back, and they did, erasing the Letran lead in a huge third quarter run. It was a great performance that could only come from a crew who truly, honestly believe that they’re better than the other team.

Letran was able to limit the Stags’ main man Jimbo Aquino, but Ronald Pascual stepped up in his stead. But I suspect that if it hadn’t been Aquino or Pascual, it would have been someone else for the Stags. The team’s just built that way, and Agustin deserves all the credit in the world for that.