JEFFREY Cariaso’s stint as Converge coach in the PBA proved to be short-lived.
The FiberXers parted ways with Cariaso yesterday, with controversial collegiate champion coach Aldin Ayo set to take over at the helm of the pro league’s newest ballclub.
An Alaska great, Cariaso was the Aces’ strategist from 2019 before the storied franchise was sold to Dennis Anthony Uy’s Converge ICT Solutions last April.
With Cariaso calling the shots, the FiberXers wound up as the seventh-ranked team with a 5-6 mark in the season-opening Philippine Cup.
While accepting the team’s decision, Cariaso said he could have been given more time to prove his worth.
“It is with utmost respect that I accept the decision of the Converge management to relieve me as the head coach of the FiberXers,” Cariaso said on his social media accounts.
“Changes like this come with the blessing of being a head coach. With my modest experience, I have learned to be more resilient and open to anything that the game throws my way. I am thankful for the added experience and learnings, and most especially, the friendships.
“Though I can say that I have no ill feeling about the turn of events, it is always the goal of any leader to bring his men to success and I wish I had more time to get them there,” he added.
Defending champion TNT showed Converge the door with a runaway 116-95 victory in the quarterfinals last month.
Ayo, 44, resigned as head trainer of the Chooks-to-Go 3×3 squad last Friday, citing the need for him to take care of his ailing mother, who has been diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Ayo guided Letran and La Salle to NCAA and UAAP titles in his first years with the teams in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
At the FiberXers’ camp, Ayo will be reunited with his former players from the Green Archers in Jeron Teng and Abu Tratter, and Kevin Racal from the Knights.
In 2020, Ayo became the talk of the town after he allegedly broke the government’s stringent health protocols by bringing University of Tomas’ practice to his hometown in Sorsogon City amid the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic from mid-June to August of the same year.
The UAAP has since handed Ayo an indefinite ban, which is under appeal.
Ayo replaced Eric Altamirano as Chooks 3×3 trainer in November 2020.
