Adornado and Jarencio are candidates for the post along with long-time del Rosario assistant Dong Vergeire, ex-pro Fritz Gaston and San Miguel Beer assistant Bethune Tanquincen, who starred for Del Rosario’s champion teams in the mid-nineties.

"I think the school will name the new coach within this week," said Vergeire. "The announcement will be made soon because the opening of the UAAP season is just six months away."

PIDO

Adornado starred for the Tigers, then known as the Glowing Goldies, in the late sixties and early seventies while Jarencio led the school to successive finals appearances, including one in 1984 where he figured in a memorable scoring duel in the finals with University of the East star Allan Caidic.

Turning the once-formidable team into a high-caliber unit is the foremost challenge for the replacement of Del Rosario, who went without a championship after nailing four straight from 1993 to 1996.

Making the job a lot more formidable is the fact that most of the stars of the Tigers’ team last season will no longer be around this year.

"The core of the team will be gone," said Vergeire.

Alwyn Espiritu, Nino Gelig, Dondon Villamin and Derrick Hubalde will no longer be around, according to Vergeire, but he vowed to make the most out of the available talent in the pool in the event he turns out to be the Chosen One.

But recruitment has been one of Santo Tomas’s top concerns.

"Definitely, we can get replacements but these are not the type of players that other schools get," lamented Vergeire. "We can’t compete in terms of recruitment with some of the teams in the league."

During the Tigers’s romp in the mid-1990s, Del Rosario had in his fingertips such marquee players like Dennis Espino, Bal David, Edmund Reyes, Patrick Fran, Rey Evangelista, Chris Cantonjos and Udoy Belmonte.

Like Jarencio and Tanquincen, Adornado also suited up for the Tigers, then known as the Glowing Goldies, before burning the hoops in the pro league.