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Ron Jacobs brought the Philippines back to prominence in basketball during the 80's and is the last head coach of the Philippine National Basketball team to have a winning record against the Chinese National Basketball team.
As a basketball coach, Jacobs revolutionized the way basketball was played in the Philippines. He raised the level of technology in playing the game and turned every contest into a learning experience by showing how to win with science, hard work, team play and discipline.
Jacobs came to the Philippines back in 1980 along with another NCAA coach Ben Lindsey. Danding Cojuangco was to choose who among the two US topnotch coaches that he would hire to run the Philippine basketball state of affairs here, Jacobs eventually earned Cojuangco's job for the coveted and lucrative position. His first job was to improve the quality of basketball in the country. There was no problem with politics - Cojuangco has effectively sidelined then FIBA and BAP President Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat and was rendered inutile.
Jacobs fell in love with the Philippines. He staked his future there and found himself slowly breaking away from the American way of life. So it was Jacobs' job to produce results. His blueprint was to upgrade the skills of the players and knowledge of the coaches. After watching some Philippine Basketball Association games that year, he felt that RP basketball has lagged behind, as coaches were intent on simply using the old school type of basketball which was run-and-gun, no defense, no plays, dependent on individual skills, lack of screens and movement, etc.
In 1980 Cojuangco didn't want to get players from the MICAA and National Seniors since he didn't have any control over these tournaments yet. Hence, Jacobs decided to get players mostly from La Salle - the school that Cojuangco patronized. This move by Jacobs drew raised eyebrows from the basketball circle as after all, Jacobs was closely associated with then La Salle coach Filo Pumaren. Jacobs handpicked less talented, less athletic and unknown players in the collegiate ranks like La Salle players Jun Tan, Jong Uichico, Teddy Alfarero, Derek Pumaren, Rey Cuenco of Arellano and the fat and flat-footed Alfie Almario. The only deserving players in Jacobs list as far as our basketball leaders then were concerned are Hector Calma of Adamson, Louie Brill and Elmer Reyes of San Beda. It was contended that the team Jacobs formed is weak as dominating collegiate players like Joey Loyzaga, Terry Saldana, Sonny Cabatu were left out.
Jacobs proved his critics wrong. RP Youth team mangled the opposition heading towards the semifinals where they were to meet South Korea. China was to go up against Japan in the other semis. This was the game Jacobs feared the most, especially since South Korea was bannering a very young rookie named Hur Jae. A mini-brawl erupted in that game against South Korea but it didn't go beyond the usual taunts and threats. They won the game by 3 points, 77-74, to earn the right to meet China in the finals. In the finals, with Alfie Almario pulverizing the opposition with timely sniping from the outside, Hector Calma's masterful quarterbacking, and Teddy Alfarero's matching up well against China's star forward Wang Libin, the Philippines won the game 74-63 During the awarding ceremony were going on, on the sideline was Jacobs just beaming with humble pride.
In 1983, Jacobs decided to retain the services of Jeff Moore and Dennis Still, owing to the lack of big men that the country faced. Reading through the FIBA rules where naturalization can be done but only after 3 years of residency, he immediately submitted Moore and Still's application for naturalization. He then sought for a shooter in the States to provide the outside sock. That was how he got Arthur "Chip" Engelland of Duke. Engelland had 3 years to fulfill his naturalization so he would have been eligible to play by 1987 for the national team.
In 1984, the Philippines, under Jacobs, played in the ABC tournament held in Qatar. They won their first three games in the eliminations only to be forfeited because of Engelland, Moore and Still's ineligibility. The team went down 0-3, and ended up in the classification round, where they beat the remaining rivals convincingly despite having only 9 players in the team - all locals at that. Hence, they became the only team in the history of the ABC to have won all its games in the tournament but ended up 9th overall.
In the latter part of 1984, the Philippines won the Asian Interclub title to earn the right to play in the World Interclub Championship to be held in Gerona, Spain. Armed with the 3 to-be-naturalized players in Engelland, Moore and Still, the Philippines will be up against three major world rivals - USA representing North America, Brazil representing South America, and Banco Di Roma of Italy for Europe. Brazil was bannered by the De Souza brothers, wily point guard Milton Setrini, and the eminent Oskar Schmidt while Banco Di Roma of Italy had the great Dino Meneghin in their team.
The Philippines lost to the US by a rout in the first game, failing to cope with the solid zone defense employed by the Americans. In the second game, they lost by a solitary point against the Brazilians, 78-77. But in the third game, ready for battle, the SMC team toppled the Italians by more than 10 points to cop third place in this prestigious tournament. Reports from Gerona said that the RP team won the hearts of the Spanish basketball fans as they saw the smallest basketball team in that league (World Interclub) play competitively against those giants from Europe and America. Chalk up another major accomplishment for the fiery American coach and his players.
Ron Jacobs later admitted that he did not instill in his players' minds to give their best for the Interclub Championship hence they treated the tournament as just part of their preparation for the coming Asian Basketball Champinoships.
In 1985, an even bigger victory came courtesy of the William Jones Cup. The San Miguel team wasn't expected to do well, especially since the Americans were represented by solid NCAA Division I players like Harold Pressley, Joe Wolf, Kenny Gattison, Kevin Henderson, Jay Bilas and Tommy Amaker and coached by Purdue's Gene Keady, the 1984 NCAA national coach of the year and Big 10 Coach of the year. He was assisted on the bench by Bruce Webber his assistant at Purdue. But Jacobs' boys pulled off one surprise after another as Moore worked like a horse, Engelland was at his pinpoint accuracy best, Calma was at his prime handling the court generalship role, and the tandem of Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic doing wonders both inside and outside. In the finals, the SMB team found itself to be in a dilemma, as center Dennis Still was hobbled by a bum knee while Jeff Moore encountered some back problems. But showing true guts and courage, the two players overcame the odds, and, with Engelland sniping away from the outside with 42 points and Lim, Caidic and Franz Pumaren doing equal damage from the arc, the SMB team won against the Americans in OT, 108-100. Tommy Amaker didn't know what hit him - he was astonished how Calma outran and outfoxed him all throughout the game. It came to a point when the foreign press described Calma as the "point guard whiz" from the Philippines while being astonished by Samboy Lim's high-flying and daredevil ways.
Jacobs in an interview said "I thought the American team that beat us in the Interclub World Tourney was weaker than the American team we beat in the Jones Cup finals". In saying those words, Jacobs meant that they could have won two successive trophies if only they treated the World Interclub tourney seriously."
In January, 1986, the ABC tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the Philippines as favorites to win the championship alongside China. In the semifinals, the RP team demolished China to earn the right to meet South Korea in the finals. And with Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic in the scoring end, the RP team finally regained its ABC championship last won in 1973 when the tournament was held here in Manila.
As early as 1985, Jacobs was already mapping out a grand plan to ensure continuity with his system. Knowing fully well that Still and Moore were already in their 30's, he has already eyed Benjie Paras and Alvin Patrimonio to take over the shoes left by Still and Moore. Engelland on the other hand, was relatively younger and was already honing Allan Caidic, Naning Valenciano and Pido Jarencio's shooting skills. But Jacobs had grand plans as well as he was already expecting Jojo Lastimosa to take over the slot to be vacated by Engelland in the future.
Then the Edsa Revolution took place in February 1986 that forced the departure of Cojuangco. Jacobs suddenly found himself without a job as the BAP under Puyat regained control of Philippine basketball fiefdom. Jacobs left for the US but later returned sometime in 1994.
In the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, the RP team (made up of 6 players from the 1994 AFC champion team San Miguel - Caidic, Agustin, Polistico, Teng, Calma and Fernandez), 3 players from Purefoods (Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codinera, Evangelista), 1 player from Alaska (Johnny Abarrientos) and 2 topnotch amateurs (Marlou Aquino and Kenneth Duremdes) and coached by Norman Black, Jacobs was sent by Cojuangco, who by then regained chairmanship of the San Miguel conglomerate, to provide advice to Black.
Black was then eased out of the SMB bench to give way to Jacobs who handled the reins of the team in 1997. Joining Black out of SMB was Derrick's brother Franz who became loyal to his former coach at SMB. Jacobs handled a moribund San Miguel team that had only Nelson Asaytono as his offensive weapon. In that only season as head coach, Jacobs piloted SMB to two third place finishes - an outstanding feat especially considering the lineup that the Beermen possessed.
In 1998, the BCAP under Chito Narvasa petitioned to the DOLE that Ron Jacobs had no right to coach a PBA team for being a foreigner. The DOLE agreed and Jacobs was "demoted" to consultant position and gave the coaching job to his protege Jong Uichico. A few weeks after, Jacobs was being contemplated upon by then PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino to handle the 1998 Centennial team that will go for the gold in Thailand. Again, the BCAP stepped in and protested Jacobs' pending appointment. Bernardino backed out and instead appointed Alaska coach Tim Cone to handle the reins. Jacobs' loss proved fatal as Tim Cone fell short.
In 2002, Bernardino finally stood his ground and formally appointed Jacobs to handle the national team to play in the Busan Asian Games. Armed with a blueprint designed to earn the gold medal, Jacobs proposed having two national team selections made up of 24 of the most outstanding PBA players to go up against PBA teams with import reinforcements. While many questioned Jacobs' preference to play in the PBA (which in turn will revert to amateur rules during this time), no one doubted what Jacobs had in mind for he was the only one who understood what he was doing. Alas, Jacobs suffered a near-fatal stroke, and the coaching mantle was eventually turned over to Uichico who, prior to Jacobs' stroke, was appointed as Jacobs' chief second and scout. While an exceptional coach himself, Uichico didn't exactly know what Jacobs had in mind, ergo, a 4th place ending in the Asian Games ended up as being the biggest disappointment in RP sports of that year.
The teams under Ron Jacobs was founded on a very basic tenet: sound fundamentals. The Philippine team of Ron Jacobs played selflessly and ensured that proper ball rotation, constant motion offense, less dribbling and more passing, movement without the ball are being practiced every single play. It was characteristic to see Calma mapping out the play, Moore moving around constantly, Caidic moving from the strong side to the weak side while using Still's bulky screen, and Lim's neat incursions being practiced everytime. The NCC team was just a marvel to watch because they had very solid fundamentals, were less prone to making errors, and yet, had the heart to go up against the big guys. Allan Caidic would constantly move around to get the open space and use every single pick offered to him. Calma would make his point guard adversary relax only to find the ball getting stolen from him. It was a delight to watch this team - because somehow, while watching, you believe they were capable of beating any other team in the world except those in the NBA.
Jacobs feared the South Koreans more than the Chinese actually because of the Sokors' ability to shoot from the outside with uncanny accuracy. Jacobs is an advocate of the percentage game - he would rather lose to a team that will shoot from the outside than get beaten inside. That was why South Korea, for him, was formidable. He had to design a defensive trap to ensure that the Korean shooters like Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae can be neutralized without sacrificing the defense inside. South Korea was known for its penchant to attack the paint only to feed the ball outside and let the shooter take the shot. Jacobs understood this very well and had to come up with an intricate defensive wall against them.
Jacobs never feared China despite their size. They had big players who were equally mobile and fleet-footed like Song Ligang and Wang Libin (both were exceptional 6'7 forwards) but he always felt that the Chinese outside shooting was suspect and overrated. He utilized the man-zone defense that disabled the Chinese big men but at the same time making sure that the shooters don't gain their confidence during the game. Sure, they had good shooters like Wang Fei, Sun Feng Wu, Sun Jun among others but he never felt intimidated by them, unlike Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae of South Korea. Plus, their point guard, the balding Adiljan, was never known to be a shooter and cannot even shoot straight. Jacobs knew this very well and was never afraid of the Chinese.
Jacobs also was able to solve the man-zone defense that the Chinese implemented against other Asian teams in the ABC. This dreaded man-zone defense was the key to the Chinese' success - and Jacobs knew that if they're able to solve this riddle, they'll be on their way to a win. As a result, he utilized outside shooters like Caidic, Lim, Pumaren and Calma to loosen the tight interior defense inside. On the other hand, Jeff Moore and Dennis Still attacked the defense of Wang Libin and took advantage of Adiljan's inability to hit the outside shot. When everyone thought China was unbeatable, Jacobs showed the blueprint to beat them.
Some of the innovations that Jacobs introduced to Philippine basketball:
Motion offense. Before, most offenses was centered on players going one on one on isolations with little emphasis on movement. Jacob's introduction of the motion offense introduce more ball movement from teams.
Strategic use of injury time out. His use of the injury timeout even when there's no player with injury which eventually lead to the PBA's 30 second timeout. Improved scouting. He basically improved the way teams scout opposing teams. Another Jacobs innovation is the 6 unanswered points rule where he calls a timeout if the opposing team scores 6 unanswered points. That way it stops the opposing team's momentum and helps his team recover
He also introduced the concept of role players in the PBA. Guys like Tonichi Yturri, Jeffrey Graves, etc. despite their limited skills are able to contribute in a meaningful way as they have defined roles in his teams.
Strategic implementation of the full court press. He wouldn't apply full court presses all the time unless warranted. This was the same reason why China and South Korea encountered difficulty against his teams, and the same reason why they were competitive going up against the Flying Eagles of the US in the 1985 Jones Cup. He was actually "obsessed" with man-to-man defense when almost all coaches in the amateurs used the zone. His usual strategy is to use the press whenever the best perimeter defender (usually a SG or SF) shoots free throws. Whether made or not, his teams would immediately go into full court press mode after the free throw by Samboy which would disrupt the play of the opposing team.
It was a dreaded arsenal, and Jacobs exploited this to a hilt by making use of the athleticism of Jeff Moore, the speed and creativity of Samboy Lim, the shot-blocking prowess and rebounding skill of Dennis Still, the cunning ways of Chip Engelland, the outside shooting prowess of Allan Caidic and the overall court generalship ability of Hector Calma to achieve its fruition. The defensive trap was like a 1-2-1-1, with Moore defending the endcourt inbounder. Calma and Engelland were normally the two players harassing the recipients of the inbound pass, Lim at centercourt anticipating the crosscourt passes, and Still at the frontline to ensure last line of defense. This is the same defensive trap laid out by Rick Pitino when he was still coaching for the NY Knicks in the 1987 NBA season when he had players like Pat Ewing, Charles Oakley, Mark Jackson, Charles Smith and Gerald Wilkins.
Before Jacobs' arrival, PBA teams were already implementing the full court press but it wasn't scientific and relied heavily on the one-on-one defensive skills of the locals. Tommy Manotoc, Ed Ocampo and Dante Silverio were acknowledged as the most "scientific" coaches of the 70's but they only did the fullcourt press by going man-to-man.
One thing about Jacobs, he was the type who would stretch the rules to the limit, in an effort to gain whatever advantage - even psychological - just to one-up the opposition.
Jacobs and Cojuangco were the first to utilize the FIBA rule regarding naturalization. The concept was for transfer of technology to happen. Jacobs understood that the bad playing habits of Filipinos were difficult to remove, especially since he saw these very habits happening in the PBA. The only way to train the players with the right and basic fundamentals was to bring in American players and make the Filipinos learn from them. By the end of the 1980s, Jacobs had already eyed Benjie Paras, Alvin Patrimonio and Jojo Lastimosa to take over the roles of Still, Moore and Engelland. The idea was so advanced for its time and that they failed to make Filipinos understand what the plan really meant - which further cemented Jacobs' legacy of stretching the rules to the hilt.
Can Vlade Djurovic, former Yugoslavian national team and Bulgarian national team head coach deliver ? can he do a Ron Jacobs for Philippine basketball as a whole..in general ? The last news I've heard was that SBP is considering hiring Djurovic long term, to teach basketball on the grassroots level and even perhaps to coach the national team.
As a basketball coach, Jacobs revolutionized the way basketball was played in the Philippines. He raised the level of technology in playing the game and turned every contest into a learning experience by showing how to win with science, hard work, team play and discipline.
Jacobs came to the Philippines back in 1980 along with another NCAA coach Ben Lindsey. Danding Cojuangco was to choose who among the two US topnotch coaches that he would hire to run the Philippine basketball state of affairs here, Jacobs eventually earned Cojuangco's job for the coveted and lucrative position. His first job was to improve the quality of basketball in the country. There was no problem with politics - Cojuangco has effectively sidelined then FIBA and BAP President Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat and was rendered inutile.
Jacobs fell in love with the Philippines. He staked his future there and found himself slowly breaking away from the American way of life. So it was Jacobs' job to produce results. His blueprint was to upgrade the skills of the players and knowledge of the coaches. After watching some Philippine Basketball Association games that year, he felt that RP basketball has lagged behind, as coaches were intent on simply using the old school type of basketball which was run-and-gun, no defense, no plays, dependent on individual skills, lack of screens and movement, etc.
In 1980 Cojuangco didn't want to get players from the MICAA and National Seniors since he didn't have any control over these tournaments yet. Hence, Jacobs decided to get players mostly from La Salle - the school that Cojuangco patronized. This move by Jacobs drew raised eyebrows from the basketball circle as after all, Jacobs was closely associated with then La Salle coach Filo Pumaren. Jacobs handpicked less talented, less athletic and unknown players in the collegiate ranks like La Salle players Jun Tan, Jong Uichico, Teddy Alfarero, Derek Pumaren, Rey Cuenco of Arellano and the fat and flat-footed Alfie Almario. The only deserving players in Jacobs list as far as our basketball leaders then were concerned are Hector Calma of Adamson, Louie Brill and Elmer Reyes of San Beda. It was contended that the team Jacobs formed is weak as dominating collegiate players like Joey Loyzaga, Terry Saldana, Sonny Cabatu were left out.
Jacobs proved his critics wrong. RP Youth team mangled the opposition heading towards the semifinals where they were to meet South Korea. China was to go up against Japan in the other semis. This was the game Jacobs feared the most, especially since South Korea was bannering a very young rookie named Hur Jae. A mini-brawl erupted in that game against South Korea but it didn't go beyond the usual taunts and threats. They won the game by 3 points, 77-74, to earn the right to meet China in the finals. In the finals, with Alfie Almario pulverizing the opposition with timely sniping from the outside, Hector Calma's masterful quarterbacking, and Teddy Alfarero's matching up well against China's star forward Wang Libin, the Philippines won the game 74-63 During the awarding ceremony were going on, on the sideline was Jacobs just beaming with humble pride.
In 1983, Jacobs decided to retain the services of Jeff Moore and Dennis Still, owing to the lack of big men that the country faced. Reading through the FIBA rules where naturalization can be done but only after 3 years of residency, he immediately submitted Moore and Still's application for naturalization. He then sought for a shooter in the States to provide the outside sock. That was how he got Arthur "Chip" Engelland of Duke. Engelland had 3 years to fulfill his naturalization so he would have been eligible to play by 1987 for the national team.
In 1984, the Philippines, under Jacobs, played in the ABC tournament held in Qatar. They won their first three games in the eliminations only to be forfeited because of Engelland, Moore and Still's ineligibility. The team went down 0-3, and ended up in the classification round, where they beat the remaining rivals convincingly despite having only 9 players in the team - all locals at that. Hence, they became the only team in the history of the ABC to have won all its games in the tournament but ended up 9th overall.
In the latter part of 1984, the Philippines won the Asian Interclub title to earn the right to play in the World Interclub Championship to be held in Gerona, Spain. Armed with the 3 to-be-naturalized players in Engelland, Moore and Still, the Philippines will be up against three major world rivals - USA representing North America, Brazil representing South America, and Banco Di Roma of Italy for Europe. Brazil was bannered by the De Souza brothers, wily point guard Milton Setrini, and the eminent Oskar Schmidt while Banco Di Roma of Italy had the great Dino Meneghin in their team.
The Philippines lost to the US by a rout in the first game, failing to cope with the solid zone defense employed by the Americans. In the second game, they lost by a solitary point against the Brazilians, 78-77. But in the third game, ready for battle, the SMC team toppled the Italians by more than 10 points to cop third place in this prestigious tournament. Reports from Gerona said that the RP team won the hearts of the Spanish basketball fans as they saw the smallest basketball team in that league (World Interclub) play competitively against those giants from Europe and America. Chalk up another major accomplishment for the fiery American coach and his players.
Ron Jacobs later admitted that he did not instill in his players' minds to give their best for the Interclub Championship hence they treated the tournament as just part of their preparation for the coming Asian Basketball Champinoships.
In 1985, an even bigger victory came courtesy of the William Jones Cup. The San Miguel team wasn't expected to do well, especially since the Americans were represented by solid NCAA Division I players like Harold Pressley, Joe Wolf, Kenny Gattison, Kevin Henderson, Jay Bilas and Tommy Amaker and coached by Purdue's Gene Keady, the 1984 NCAA national coach of the year and Big 10 Coach of the year. He was assisted on the bench by Bruce Webber his assistant at Purdue. But Jacobs' boys pulled off one surprise after another as Moore worked like a horse, Engelland was at his pinpoint accuracy best, Calma was at his prime handling the court generalship role, and the tandem of Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic doing wonders both inside and outside. In the finals, the SMB team found itself to be in a dilemma, as center Dennis Still was hobbled by a bum knee while Jeff Moore encountered some back problems. But showing true guts and courage, the two players overcame the odds, and, with Engelland sniping away from the outside with 42 points and Lim, Caidic and Franz Pumaren doing equal damage from the arc, the SMB team won against the Americans in OT, 108-100. Tommy Amaker didn't know what hit him - he was astonished how Calma outran and outfoxed him all throughout the game. It came to a point when the foreign press described Calma as the "point guard whiz" from the Philippines while being astonished by Samboy Lim's high-flying and daredevil ways.
Jacobs in an interview said "I thought the American team that beat us in the Interclub World Tourney was weaker than the American team we beat in the Jones Cup finals". In saying those words, Jacobs meant that they could have won two successive trophies if only they treated the World Interclub tourney seriously."
In January, 1986, the ABC tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the Philippines as favorites to win the championship alongside China. In the semifinals, the RP team demolished China to earn the right to meet South Korea in the finals. And with Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic in the scoring end, the RP team finally regained its ABC championship last won in 1973 when the tournament was held here in Manila.
As early as 1985, Jacobs was already mapping out a grand plan to ensure continuity with his system. Knowing fully well that Still and Moore were already in their 30's, he has already eyed Benjie Paras and Alvin Patrimonio to take over the shoes left by Still and Moore. Engelland on the other hand, was relatively younger and was already honing Allan Caidic, Naning Valenciano and Pido Jarencio's shooting skills. But Jacobs had grand plans as well as he was already expecting Jojo Lastimosa to take over the slot to be vacated by Engelland in the future.
Then the Edsa Revolution took place in February 1986 that forced the departure of Cojuangco. Jacobs suddenly found himself without a job as the BAP under Puyat regained control of Philippine basketball fiefdom. Jacobs left for the US but later returned sometime in 1994.
In the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, the RP team (made up of 6 players from the 1994 AFC champion team San Miguel - Caidic, Agustin, Polistico, Teng, Calma and Fernandez), 3 players from Purefoods (Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codinera, Evangelista), 1 player from Alaska (Johnny Abarrientos) and 2 topnotch amateurs (Marlou Aquino and Kenneth Duremdes) and coached by Norman Black, Jacobs was sent by Cojuangco, who by then regained chairmanship of the San Miguel conglomerate, to provide advice to Black.
Black was then eased out of the SMB bench to give way to Jacobs who handled the reins of the team in 1997. Joining Black out of SMB was Derrick's brother Franz who became loyal to his former coach at SMB. Jacobs handled a moribund San Miguel team that had only Nelson Asaytono as his offensive weapon. In that only season as head coach, Jacobs piloted SMB to two third place finishes - an outstanding feat especially considering the lineup that the Beermen possessed.
In 1998, the BCAP under Chito Narvasa petitioned to the DOLE that Ron Jacobs had no right to coach a PBA team for being a foreigner. The DOLE agreed and Jacobs was "demoted" to consultant position and gave the coaching job to his protege Jong Uichico. A few weeks after, Jacobs was being contemplated upon by then PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino to handle the 1998 Centennial team that will go for the gold in Thailand. Again, the BCAP stepped in and protested Jacobs' pending appointment. Bernardino backed out and instead appointed Alaska coach Tim Cone to handle the reins. Jacobs' loss proved fatal as Tim Cone fell short.
In 2002, Bernardino finally stood his ground and formally appointed Jacobs to handle the national team to play in the Busan Asian Games. Armed with a blueprint designed to earn the gold medal, Jacobs proposed having two national team selections made up of 24 of the most outstanding PBA players to go up against PBA teams with import reinforcements. While many questioned Jacobs' preference to play in the PBA (which in turn will revert to amateur rules during this time), no one doubted what Jacobs had in mind for he was the only one who understood what he was doing. Alas, Jacobs suffered a near-fatal stroke, and the coaching mantle was eventually turned over to Uichico who, prior to Jacobs' stroke, was appointed as Jacobs' chief second and scout. While an exceptional coach himself, Uichico didn't exactly know what Jacobs had in mind, ergo, a 4th place ending in the Asian Games ended up as being the biggest disappointment in RP sports of that year.
The teams under Ron Jacobs was founded on a very basic tenet: sound fundamentals. The Philippine team of Ron Jacobs played selflessly and ensured that proper ball rotation, constant motion offense, less dribbling and more passing, movement without the ball are being practiced every single play. It was characteristic to see Calma mapping out the play, Moore moving around constantly, Caidic moving from the strong side to the weak side while using Still's bulky screen, and Lim's neat incursions being practiced everytime. The NCC team was just a marvel to watch because they had very solid fundamentals, were less prone to making errors, and yet, had the heart to go up against the big guys. Allan Caidic would constantly move around to get the open space and use every single pick offered to him. Calma would make his point guard adversary relax only to find the ball getting stolen from him. It was a delight to watch this team - because somehow, while watching, you believe they were capable of beating any other team in the world except those in the NBA.
Jacobs feared the South Koreans more than the Chinese actually because of the Sokors' ability to shoot from the outside with uncanny accuracy. Jacobs is an advocate of the percentage game - he would rather lose to a team that will shoot from the outside than get beaten inside. That was why South Korea, for him, was formidable. He had to design a defensive trap to ensure that the Korean shooters like Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae can be neutralized without sacrificing the defense inside. South Korea was known for its penchant to attack the paint only to feed the ball outside and let the shooter take the shot. Jacobs understood this very well and had to come up with an intricate defensive wall against them.
Jacobs never feared China despite their size. They had big players who were equally mobile and fleet-footed like Song Ligang and Wang Libin (both were exceptional 6'7 forwards) but he always felt that the Chinese outside shooting was suspect and overrated. He utilized the man-zone defense that disabled the Chinese big men but at the same time making sure that the shooters don't gain their confidence during the game. Sure, they had good shooters like Wang Fei, Sun Feng Wu, Sun Jun among others but he never felt intimidated by them, unlike Lee Chung Hee and Hur Jae of South Korea. Plus, their point guard, the balding Adiljan, was never known to be a shooter and cannot even shoot straight. Jacobs knew this very well and was never afraid of the Chinese.
Jacobs also was able to solve the man-zone defense that the Chinese implemented against other Asian teams in the ABC. This dreaded man-zone defense was the key to the Chinese' success - and Jacobs knew that if they're able to solve this riddle, they'll be on their way to a win. As a result, he utilized outside shooters like Caidic, Lim, Pumaren and Calma to loosen the tight interior defense inside. On the other hand, Jeff Moore and Dennis Still attacked the defense of Wang Libin and took advantage of Adiljan's inability to hit the outside shot. When everyone thought China was unbeatable, Jacobs showed the blueprint to beat them.
Some of the innovations that Jacobs introduced to Philippine basketball:
Motion offense. Before, most offenses was centered on players going one on one on isolations with little emphasis on movement. Jacob's introduction of the motion offense introduce more ball movement from teams.
Strategic use of injury time out. His use of the injury timeout even when there's no player with injury which eventually lead to the PBA's 30 second timeout. Improved scouting. He basically improved the way teams scout opposing teams. Another Jacobs innovation is the 6 unanswered points rule where he calls a timeout if the opposing team scores 6 unanswered points. That way it stops the opposing team's momentum and helps his team recover
He also introduced the concept of role players in the PBA. Guys like Tonichi Yturri, Jeffrey Graves, etc. despite their limited skills are able to contribute in a meaningful way as they have defined roles in his teams.
Strategic implementation of the full court press. He wouldn't apply full court presses all the time unless warranted. This was the same reason why China and South Korea encountered difficulty against his teams, and the same reason why they were competitive going up against the Flying Eagles of the US in the 1985 Jones Cup. He was actually "obsessed" with man-to-man defense when almost all coaches in the amateurs used the zone. His usual strategy is to use the press whenever the best perimeter defender (usually a SG or SF) shoots free throws. Whether made or not, his teams would immediately go into full court press mode after the free throw by Samboy which would disrupt the play of the opposing team.
It was a dreaded arsenal, and Jacobs exploited this to a hilt by making use of the athleticism of Jeff Moore, the speed and creativity of Samboy Lim, the shot-blocking prowess and rebounding skill of Dennis Still, the cunning ways of Chip Engelland, the outside shooting prowess of Allan Caidic and the overall court generalship ability of Hector Calma to achieve its fruition. The defensive trap was like a 1-2-1-1, with Moore defending the endcourt inbounder. Calma and Engelland were normally the two players harassing the recipients of the inbound pass, Lim at centercourt anticipating the crosscourt passes, and Still at the frontline to ensure last line of defense. This is the same defensive trap laid out by Rick Pitino when he was still coaching for the NY Knicks in the 1987 NBA season when he had players like Pat Ewing, Charles Oakley, Mark Jackson, Charles Smith and Gerald Wilkins.
Before Jacobs' arrival, PBA teams were already implementing the full court press but it wasn't scientific and relied heavily on the one-on-one defensive skills of the locals. Tommy Manotoc, Ed Ocampo and Dante Silverio were acknowledged as the most "scientific" coaches of the 70's but they only did the fullcourt press by going man-to-man.
One thing about Jacobs, he was the type who would stretch the rules to the limit, in an effort to gain whatever advantage - even psychological - just to one-up the opposition.
Jacobs and Cojuangco were the first to utilize the FIBA rule regarding naturalization. The concept was for transfer of technology to happen. Jacobs understood that the bad playing habits of Filipinos were difficult to remove, especially since he saw these very habits happening in the PBA. The only way to train the players with the right and basic fundamentals was to bring in American players and make the Filipinos learn from them. By the end of the 1980s, Jacobs had already eyed Benjie Paras, Alvin Patrimonio and Jojo Lastimosa to take over the roles of Still, Moore and Engelland. The idea was so advanced for its time and that they failed to make Filipinos understand what the plan really meant - which further cemented Jacobs' legacy of stretching the rules to the hilt.
Can Vlade Djurovic, former Yugoslavian national team and Bulgarian national team head coach deliver ? can he do a Ron Jacobs for Philippine basketball as a whole..in general ? The last news I've heard was that SBP is considering hiring Djurovic long term, to teach basketball on the grassroots level and even perhaps to coach the national team.
YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO BAD... 
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