Former UE coach Lawrence Chongson lets his hair down at PinoyExchange.com

Posted by Jaemark Tordecilla on April 20, 2011 at 15:36 | Comments (28)

I had wanted to blog about this earlier, but there were more, uh, pressing matters to blog about. Over the weekend, Lawrence Chongson, former coach of the University of the East Red Warriors in the UAAP and current coach of Cobra in the PBA D-League, joined the fray in the popular message board community Pinoy Exchange and began answering questions from its readers.

Answers that involved such topics as UE star Ken Acibar, and the coach’s long, flowing locks:

good morning guys. to answer ur questions for today: #1 yes. Acibar will stil play for d university, unless tanggalin din sya. #2 never pa ako nagapapa-rebond ng buhok in my entire life. if u wud only come closer to me then u'll see. noon pa man pati mga girls nai-inggit sa hair ko kasi straight daw. maybe its my chinese genes, i don't know. at my age hndi na ako masyadong conscious sa ganyan. kung alam mo lang how much hair i've lost or nalalagas sakin since i started coaching UE. syempre super-pressured diba? lalo na kung alam mong marami ang babatikos everytime matatalo ang team.

But that’s not even the most interesting part. He opens up about why he was let go as coach of the university, which he says is because of his relationship with Bong Tan –the son of the university’s owner and the varsity team’s erstwhile patron:

but possible na nagamit si director ng kung sino man ang may gustong mabura sa eksena si mr.bong tan sa pagpapa-takbo ng team. i believe sya talaga yung target at ako'y collateral damage lamang. kelan ba nangyari sa history ng UE na nakakapag-training ang team sa america at taunang sumasali sa isang tournament sa Taiwan?? nung pumasok nga tayo sa final 4 nung '09, nag-team building pa muna ang team sa cebu bago lumaban sa feu. san ka pa?? kung most schools nga nagdo-door to door para lang maka-sikwat ng sponsor, si mr.bong tan nandyan na automatic na para sa UE. grasya na inayawan pa. at may pruweba naman kahit na papano in just 2 seasons.

Tan, according to Chongson, has since been eased out of the operations of the team:

and another thing, walang control si mr. bong tan sa pagpapa-takbo ng UE team before and after ako ang naging coach ng team. he was already defied when a new coach was hired. kawawa naman yung tao kung lahat nalang isi-sisi sa kanya. d guy is a competitor. kahit si Obama lalabanan nyan basta alam nyang nasa tama sya. i seriously doubt kung kay hans sy lang uurong yon. but wala syang support ng University. siguro respeto as anak ng may-ari automatic yon pero thats about it.

Chongson also discusses candidly issues surrounding former UE stalwart Paul Lee’s refusal to join the national team:

paul lee nor i have ever met with whoever is handling the national team. ridiculous yung paul asked for money from anyone. as of now, we can say na parang adviser/guardian ako ni paul kasi he knows naman na yung kapakanan nya ang iniingatan namin ni mr. bong tan. yung sa national team issue, he did receive an invitation to tryout. but with all the ateneo, san beda, smart gilas, NLEX & FEU players sa listahan nila, tapos si black pa ang coach then bankrolled ni mvp yung team, what are the chances na paul will crack d final 12 line-up?? ano kaya ang pwedeng maging effect sa drafting position ni paul sa PBA 2011 Draft sakali ngang malaglag sya sa RP tryouts?? i read pa nga somewhere na si chris tiu may automatic slot na sa RP roster but depende kung tatangapin daw nya. Whaaat??!!!! si chris tiu sure ng pasok at sya pa ang may privilege kung tatanggapin yung pwesto or not tapos si paul lee kelangan pang mag-tryout?? no offense. chris tiu is a good friend & i can certainly vouch that he's a good kid with a very good heart. but to size him up against paul lee as a b-ball player...not even close (sa ngayon).

My favorite post of his, however, involves this hilarious anecdote about a drunk Joe Lipa:

nung 2007 SEA Games sa Thailand, i was 1 of the assistant coaches appointed. i was d coach of d Burger King team in d PBL at that time. yung head coach ng RP team nun si baculi while kami nina louie alas & beujing acot ang mga assistant coaches. inappoint ni PBL commissioner chino trinidad si joe lipa maging consultant ng team sa SEA Games. nung 1st night namin dun, medyo nakainom siguro si lipa ng konti & napag-tripan ako. twice nyang inulit na "COACH baculi & COACH alas magagaling kayong mga coaches" although apat lang kami sa mesa nun. syempre although medyo nasaktan ako i opted to deadma nalang. hindi pa sya nakuntento at sinabihan ako ng "im sorry Lawrence but i cannot call you Coach kasi hndi pa kita nakitang mag-coach." as usual, hindi ko nalang inintindi. kaya nga kinikilig ako from within nung uaap 2009 kasi sya yung commissioner and ako yung HEAD COACH ng uaap finalist na UE RED WARRIORS. diba before the start of every game nag-uusap-usap muna ang mga coaches of both teams with d referees & d commissioner inside d commissioner's room?? imagine mo i went in there 5 straight times nung final 4 & nung finals then kaharap namin si lipa. finally tinawag nya akong COACH.

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Tags: Basketball, Bong Tan, Chris Tiu, PBA D-League, Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Basketball Team, UAAP, UE Red Warriors

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#1 no namer on 2011-04-20 16:03 (Reply)

nice read sir jaemark. very entertaining and informative at the same time... i would have to agree that paul lee is better than chris tiu. now, let's assume that le tried out and made it to the team. who among the current gilas guards wouldn't have made it to the team?

#1.1 no namer on 2011-04-20 16:05 (Reply)

*lee, not le. haha...

#2 workhorse3 on 2011-04-20 16:31 (Reply)

that UE 2009 team was a cinderella team, and i'll give Lawrence Chongson credit for that. He even brought out the best (and beast) out of Paul Lee and even Val Acuna.

Somehow, adding Bong Tan in the mix is a bit suspicious, the same way i've heard things about Tanduay's fate in the PBA back in 2000 and James Yap's 4 point performance in Game 1 of the UE-Ateneo Final Four match. Or the way UE choked in the Final Four this decade (except on that 2009 team). Either they're urban legends, rumors, or i don't know. :P

May tanong pala ako, matagal nang hini-hint ni Rick O sa Brew, that there was a reason why UE wound up 1-6 in the first round of the UAAP before finishing the second round at 5-2. Aside from Paul Lee's stress-fractured foot, heard there were tensions in the UE camp. Maybe he can shed light into that.

#3 workhorse3 on 2011-04-20 16:35 (Reply)

if I may, here are some brew links regarding chongson:

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2009/10/bleachers-brew-178-long-ride-of.html

http://bleachersbrew.blogspot.com/2010/08/where-to-red-warrior.html

#3.1 workhorse3 on 2011-04-20 16:37 (Reply)

and one more (which should have been the banner pic of this blog hahaha)

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/209602/board-abandoned-us-says-pbl-executive

#3.1.1 jaemark on 2011-04-20 16:38 (Reply)

nasagot ata yan ni Coach Lawrence sa PEx, you just have to look for it in the threads, hehe.

#3.1.1.1 workhorse3 on 2011-04-20 16:41 (Reply)

basahin ko sa bahay, busy sa trabaho, fuma-firequinito lang during breaks. haha. buti may condensed entry ka dito :-)

#3.1.1.2 workhorse3 on 2011-04-21 02:49 (Reply)

probably my most favorite quote from Chongson:

"i've read abt the "classy guy" comment abt me sa mga ateneo blogs. i realized right there & then that an atenista will for surely know one when they see one. but i will trade those nice comments in exchange for beating ur asses in d 2009 Finals anytime of the day. "

hahaha!

#4 Question on 2011-04-20 17:10 (Reply)

so, jaemark, do you believe everything he said? :-) haha

#4.1 jaemark on 2011-04-20 17:13 (Reply)

Haha, I presented what he said without comment.

#4.1.1 Question on 2011-04-20 17:21 (Reply)

fair enough . haha agree with him on Chris' special treatment though. everyone should be practicing to be in the line-up. Paul Lee and Chris Tiu should be no different. i call bull on his reason that its an MVP backed team though. so what if it is? Paul Lee naman yan eh

#5 lawrence chongson on 2011-04-20 17:13 (Reply)

the spelling is C-H-O-N-G-S-O-N. No letter i. and certainly not TIONGSON. remember my name. thanks

#5.1 jaemark on 2011-04-20 17:23 (Reply)

Corrected, coach. My apologies for the mistake. Thanks for leaving a comment.

#5.2 paknoy on 2011-04-21 00:42 (Reply)

idol tlga c coach lawrence parang match lng cla ni coach alfrancis chua...hair to hair matchup..lamang pa ng c coach lawrence ksi never png ngpparebond natural hahaha..

#6 Simply Red on 2011-04-20 19:26 (Reply)

I cant wait to hear Coach Chongson as one of the broadcast panelists in PBA.Pasok yung hirit nya and his humor is fantastic!

#7 Corals on 2011-04-20 19:26 (Reply)

sinagot niya ba kung bakit umalis ng maaga si paul lee?

#8 APE on 2011-04-20 23:41 (Reply)

I just love it when players or coaches answer questions candidly. Nakakagago yung mga pakitang tao sumagot sa mga tanong. Thumbs up to COACH Lawrence!

#9 gogilas on 2011-04-21 11:22 (Reply)

I'd beg to differ on Chongson's comments on Chris Tiu and Paul Lee. in 2008, (when the team was formed) Ateneo just won a championship, Tiu just finished with his 2nd straight mythical 5 award. Paul lee was averaging 6 pts and 2 rebs. Toroman's 3 guys whom he was really high on at that time were Jv Casio, Chris Tiu and... JR Cawaling. Maybe Paul Lee is more talented, athletic than Chris but Chris is a better shooter and a smarter player. he fits the team perfectly. We could say maybe Sol Mercado is also more talented than the other guys and a better player but he just didnt fit the system cause he needs the ball in his hands all the time. And that's the type of player Paul Lee is. He is a great player though. No disrespect. But for Chongson to go and name Chris Tiu among all the other guards just cause he's an atenean has no merit. Chris has been the team leader, he is the team captain as chosen by Toroman and not MVP. He plays the 3rd most minutes in the team. He is usually 1 or 2 in assists and has always been their best rebounder. They may say his defense isnt that good but Toroman would say that he is his best "tactical" defender, in that he knows all the rules of the system and always follows it.
Your performance determines if you will get cut from the team or not. Take Rabeh - A UAAP MVP also and a runner-up. He's not with the team now is he? Aguilar was almost cut, Slaughter might be gone since Asi is there. Cawaling whom they thought was he most skilled is long gone too. The mere fact that they wouldnt even let him try-out cause they were afraid he wouldn't make it says a lot. Marcio Lassiter, who wasn't even in the team's radar, tried out and made his way to the team and now is a starter too. They kept inviting Paul Lee to try out and then finally very late last year or early this year, when it is too late for him to join, it was their turn to ask for him to be included in the team, which wasnt possible anymore. Had Paul Lee tried out, he probably would have made it, and maybe they wouldnt have needed Hontiveros anymore.

#10 weckl on 2011-04-21 13:59 (Reply)

Agree with Gogilas. While Paul Lee's more athletic, Chris Tiu is more valuable in team play. Lee will struggle to follow Toroman's system. Ditto with say Mark Caguioa. Dondon Hontiveros would be the better pick, or at least he fits the system better.

#10.1 gogilas on 2011-04-23 00:03 (Reply)

thanks. no doubt paul lee will be a great player in the pba. but he just might not fit this team. none of the guards in the gilas team dribble the ball alot because of the system. only the pgs do. and i dont think paul lee will be as good as he is as a pg. he needs the ball. some guys will fit some guys wont. cardona can score but no way he will fit this team. caguiao is the same thing. paul lee wasnt paul lee yet in 2008 :)

#11 ironcoach on 2011-04-23 10:24 (Reply)

i did not name chris among all the the other guards whether in d gilas team or the RP SEA Games aspirants because of his being an atenean. the only reason why i singled out chris was because of all the aspirants/tryouts that were named, chris was the only 1 accorded a guaranteed slot on the roster & it was also stated in d papers that it was also chris' call whether to accept the offer or not. school affiliation has got 100% nothing to do with it. whether la sallian, bedan, atenean, thomasian, fron UP, frm FEU, letranite, mapuan...irrelevant yan. as a coach, all your other point of views, opinions & observations regarding who fits & doesn't fit d team, i can say that they're all valid. ur quick defense on chris & ateneo are also admirable & respectable. since ur true-blue, i say go fight for it. but only in this instance, maybe ur defensive instinct just happend to bark at the wrong tree. but i shud say that u'd make a pretty good scout for coach rajko. you know what he exactly needs. and u seem to be pretty damn sure that his formula & system will be just what the doctor ordered for RP to finally bag d fiba-asia title. good luck.

#12 ironcoach on 2011-04-23 10:33 (Reply)

wasn't it in 2009 when coach toroman & smart gilas came about?? if i can remember correctly, yeng guiao & the PBA managed the 2008 RP team at the fiba-asia in Tianjin, China. or maybe im wrong.

#13 ironcoach on 2011-04-23 10:58 (Reply)

i wana make this very clear. i have nothing against smart-gilas & their braintrust. nola eala had indeed sought me out several times in the past regarding paul lee's inclusion in the smart-gilas team. it was my 1st yr at ue & i just wanted paul to focus on ue (ue hasn't won in a quarter of a century thats y we wr kinda desperate) thats why we turned it down. then after paul decided to forego his final year at ue last january, i did went to see mr. frankie lim & mr. allan gregorio re: d possibility of lee joining gilas. no 1 from gilas got back to me anymore so i guess they're not interested with lee anymore & that they'd rather borrow some players from the PBA, 4 months before d fiba-asia tournament, instead. my post in pinoyexchange abt paul lee & chris tiu is about d manner of forming the RP SEA GAMES TEAM to be coached by norman black. pls don't confuse it with the smart-gilas team.

#13.1 dre on 2011-04-24 13:35 (Reply)

haha nice coach! Intindihin kasi muna ang issue bago mag react at i-defend si metroman. Apply na kayong scout ni toroman! Bilis!

#14 cambridge on 2011-04-23 19:09 (Reply)

Coach Lawrence - did Paul Lee (or his advisers) really asked for 300k/month as his salary with the Smart-Gilas team? I recall that the maximum Smart-Gilas would be paying its players is 150k/mo.

#15 ironcoach on 2011-04-25 21:46 (Reply)

i represent paul lee and neither paul nor i have ever dicussed money matters with anybody. not from the gilas crew nor anyone in the world. there is absolutely no truth to that hearsay/rumor.

#16 Corrupt on 2011-06-21 09:08 (Reply)

Geezz...Mr. Chongson just exposed himself as part of the corrupt system by offering Arvie Bringas P2 Million to play for UE.

Will the NBI come forward and ask Mr. Tiongson about the P10 Million payment to the Ravenas by Ateneo?

To quote:

" Almost sweldo na ng top PBA rookie pick. x 5 years. Hindi bababa ng 10M. Yung daddy nga daw drives around town nowadays in a Mercedes sports car. Kaya nga from day 1 palang nung marami ang umaasang father & son would go to UE, I already knew then that it would be too good to be true. I never bothered to scout nor to even try to pursue Kiefer even for a second dati coz I knew it would just be a waste of time. Yung N.U. natukso pang mag-offer since ma-datung na sila kaya ayun...ginawang barometer lang tuloy para i-outbid ng Ateneo.

If only U.P. would offer Jerry half of the Ravena jackpot...I doubt if he would even bother to go back to UE. What price being an alumnus???
But that's only being practical. Anybody would've done the same thing.

Going back to Kiefer, I would've gone as high as 3M over 5 years but I knew it will be unacceptable to his dad. 2 years ago I offered Arvie Bringas 2M over 5 years but he didn't bite. Made me wonder how much DLSU gave him. Oh well...he's not there anymore, is he.
Kung sa UE sya sana nagpunta di no hassle ang college career niya."

#17 Corrupt on 2011-06-21 09:11 (Reply)

Can Mr. Lawrence substantiate the following accusations he made:

" Almost sweldo na ng top PBA rookie pick. x 5 years. Hindi bababa ng 10M. Yung daddy nga daw drives around town nowadays in a Mercedes sports car. Kaya nga from day 1 palang nung marami ang umaasang father & son would go to UE, I already knew then that it would be too good to be true. I never bothered to scout nor to even try to pursue Kiefer even for a second dati coz I knew it would just be a waste of time. Yung N.U. natukso pang mag-offer since ma-datung na sila kaya ayun...ginawang barometer lang tuloy para i-outbid ng Ateneo.

If only U.P. would offer Jerry half of the Ravena jackpot...I doubt if he would even bother to go back to UE. What price being an alumnus???
But that's only being practical. Anybody would've done the same thing.

Going back to Kiefer, I would've gone as high as 3M over 5 years but I knew it will be unacceptable to his dad. 2 years ago I offered Arvie Bringas 2M over 5 years but he didn't bite. Made me wonder how much DLSU gave him. Oh well...he's not there anymore, is he.
Kung sa UE sya sana nagpunta di no hassle ang college career niya."