06/06/2026
| Nash Racela
One of my favorite coaches in the Philippines was Nash Racelala.
I first played for Coach Nash in 2001 when the Manila MetroStars and Batangas Blades essentially merged under the Batangas name. We had a talented team with veterans from both organizations, and I was excited about what we could become.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how much Coach Nash was going to challenge my thinking.
For the previous three years, one of the best weapons in the league had been the pick-and-roll between Romel Adducul and me. We had won games with it, won a championship with it as one of our main threats, and built a lot of our offensive success around it. So when Coach Nash told us we weren’t going to run pick-and-rolls, I struggled with that.
I thought it was one of the best plays in the league. Looking back, that was probably one of the first lessons Coach Nash taught me. Good coaches often see things that players don’t. He had a plan for how he wanted to build our offense and how he wanted our team to play. Later in the season we would incorporate the pick-and-roll, but first he wanted us to learn something bigger.
Then came a playoff game in Olongapo.
The game was close and we had the ball with a chance to win. In my mind, this was exactly the kind of situation where I expected to have the ball in my hands. Coach Nash called timeout and drew up the play.
“Alex, we’re going to use you as a decoy.”
I remember having to bite my tongue.
Coach explained that we would run me off a staggered screen along the baseline. Everyone would anticipate the play and jump toward me. Once that happened, Tonyboy Espinosa would attack the basket.
We broke the huddle and ran the play.
Exactly what Coach Nash predicted happened.
As I came off the staggered screen, defenders collapsed toward me. Tonyboy drove straight to the rim and got a layup. We won the game.
That moment stayed with me.
One of the things I always appreciated about Coach Nash was that he never seemed to do things randomly. He was thoughtful. He was intelligent. He could clearly explain why he was doing what he was doing. Even when I disagreed, there was always a purpose behind it.
Over the years our paths crossed many times. He continued coaching me with the Batangas Blades and later the LBC Batangas Blades in the PBL. He coached at FEU, with the youth national team, and in the PBA. Eventually I found myself coaching against him as a head coach and later working alongside him with Gilas Pilipinas.
That is one of the great joys of basketball. Sometimes the player eventually gets the opportunity to work with the coach.
Coach Nash was someone I always enjoyed learning from and someone I genuinely enjoyed working with. He challenged me as a player, taught me lessons that extended beyond basketball, and earned my respect every step of the way.
Today he is the head coach of Adamson University, continuing to teach young men how to play the game the right way.
Coach, thank you for the lessons, the conversations, and the example.
I will always be cheering for you. 🇵🇭
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Filipinos will always feel like my people and every time I fly back to the Philippines, it feels like I am going home. This is — where I pay homage to the years I spent being with and building with Filipinos. 🇵🇭
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