Signs of the times: Pictures call plays louder than words for FEU
Don’t be surprised if you see cardboard photos of Johnny Abarrientos, Jojo Lastimosa or Jeffrey Cariaso during UAAP games this season.
It’s not going to be fans paying homage to the basketball legends.
It’s going to be Sean Chambers and the Far Eastern University (FEU) coaching staff.
Chambers, one of the most successful imports to ever see action in the PBA said he won’t hesitate to use pictures of his old Alaska teammates when he resorts to cardboard signs to call plays from the sidelines—a ploy that has caught the attention of UAAP fans.
“I’m sure we’ll have a Johnny A play out there for sure,” Chambers said after the Tamaraws’ 59-47 loss to the Adamson Falcons last Sunday. “A Jojo Lastimosa. Maybe a Jeffrey Cariaso when we run our Jet play.”
Chambers and his staff used a lot of photo signs during the Tamaraws’ UAAP Season 87 opener, where the team started out strong only to run out of steam in the end.
Whether it was NBA star Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, the Portland Trail Blazers logo or the number 14, the coaching staff’s placards were very noticeable on the FEU bench, just as it was meant to be.
“If you watch American football, especially in college, one of the things they do because of the sound of the crowd and the noise. We’re trying to run a play for a specific player and they can’t hear me so we put up a sign that they all know what that sign is,” said Chambers.
“We have a play that’s actually called Trae Young so there’s a big picture of Trae Young. We have a play that’s called Portland so there’s the Portland Trail Blazers symbol. It’s just something that will help everybody understand because my goal is when we’re running the play, running the set we all know what we’re doing especially when we’re trying to get to a specific player.”
Chambers is aware that the signs will also make it easier for other schools to scout the Tamaraws, but that’s the least of all his worries right now.
“We may come up with a different sign next time or we’ll change the name of the player. In the States people steal the signs. It became a big deal with the University of Michigan football,” the FEU coach said.
“[W]hen you’re wasting a lot of time trying to figure out my signs, you’re not preparing for your own team. So if you want to spend time to figure out what our signs mean, good luck, then you’re not putting time to take care of your own team,” he added.
As a precaution, Chambers said he may end up mixing the signs and their meanings to confuse opposing scouts, thus the possibility of using the faces of his former Alaska teammates.
“We’ll use some of those guys but we gotta keep the other coaches on their toes and not give them all our secrets,” he said.
