THE province of Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte has tapped one of its proud sons in Eddie Laure to be the head coach of the Vanguards for the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup-Mindanao Leg.
Laure, 43, who was born and raised in Dipolog, is a childhood friend of Mayor and team owner Jan Hendrik Vallecer.
“Unang-una kasi taga dito ako. Pangalawa, ‘yung team owner namin magkaibigan kami,” said Laure, who played pro basketball from 1998-2016.
“Siyempre, gusto ko din dito muna mag-stay habang pandemic tapos na-timing na nagbuo siya ng team. Ako ‘yung tinawagan niya at hindi na ko nagdalawang isip na kunin yun.”
League officials are still finalizing the venue for the Mindanao leg, set to start on the week of June 12-18.
This will be Laure’s first head coaching job. He had served as an assistant coach at University of Santo Tomas, University of the East, Jose Rizal University, and MPBL team Laguna.
Laure has tapped two veterans to serve as anchors of the team — 6-foot-4 bruiser Chito Jaime and 6-foot-3 Leo Najorda.
“Malaking factor ‘yung Najorda at ‘yung Jaime dahil tinitingala sila ng mga bata,” said the former MBA Most Valuable Player.
