Nenad Vucinic set to reunite with Meralco coaching staff next conference

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Widely-renowned Serbian tactician coach Nenad Vucinic will be back in the Philippines and is set to return and help the Meralco Bolts rediscover its lost magic.

Vucinic left the orange and white nation four months ago when they lost against the San Miguel Beermen in Game 7 of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup as the team’s consultant.

Now, with Meralco seeking to bounce back after a disappointing finish in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup, the management thought adding Vucinic will help restore order in the team.

Meralco finished the import-laced conference with a shocking 4-8 win-loss record and broke their streak of playoff appearances in the Norman Black era.

It was a tough conference for the Bolts after missing the services of team captain and superstar Chris Newsome due to an injury and failed to suit up a single game with the Bolts.

Vucinic is a long-time friend of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) chief orchestrator Tab Baldwin and once became the head coach of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team.

Under his helm, Gilas Pilipinas split two matches during their schedule, first losing to a well-oiled New Zealand team while bouncing back the next game against India.

Vucinic also called the shots for the national team during the 2022 KB Kookmin Bank Invitational where the young Gilas squad lost back-to-back games against the Korean national team.

However, during those two losses, Vucinic and the rest of the guys fought toe-to-toe against Ricardo Ratliffe and the veteran Korean team.

The Serbian-Kiwi mentor will be flying to the country next month after the holidays when the team will go back to their intensive training camp for the next PBA conference.