The plaque says forty (40) years honoring the exemplary service of Coach Edmundo “Ato” Roux Badolato to our beloved Mendiola-based University. He was born December 30, 1946, to a Filipino-Spanish father and French-Filipina mother, and judging by his physical attributes and along with his two departed siblings, the Spanish mestizo/mestiza DNA kicked pretty well.

Last night during the second day of his memorial service, I stood beside his long-time ward from the mid to late 80s, Rolando Jun Manuel, who co-captained the NCAA returning ’87 Juniors’ champs and was part of Coach Ato’s first National Team head coach appointment by way of the 17u Asian Youth Basketball Confederation, and we discussed amongst ourselves. There is something wrong with this plaque,

1980?

Are you kidding me?!

“Mali yan.” the current Pilipinas Shell exec declared in the vernacular.

I agreed with my batch too. Since how do you explain the pair of NCAA titles and National Inter-Secondary chips of the 1970s? It was in 1972 he told me personally when he started coaching the Red Cubs. It was the quintessential Bedan, then Athletic Director Clarito Pinga, who gave him the job of mentoring the SBC Scouting team at that time. With zero knowledge about his new job description from being a long-time student assistant with the school’s Speech Lab and AV projectionist, he sought the sage-like guidance of San Beda Red Lions mentor of the 1960s, Crispulo “Olong” Jocson. Armed with his innate grit, he devoured basketball textbooks available in the San Beda Library to become a genuine student of the game. He credits these two Bedan sporting pillars being the people who thrust him into a vocation that made as one of the greatest transformational coaches in Ph basketball to have ever paced the sidelines, if not the greatest ever.

His early successes included utter domination of the Scouting League that by the end of the tumultuous 1970s, the league became defunct because no one can beat San Beda. Same as the Catholic Education’s Athletic Program (CEAP) tournament, where the boys from Mendiola lorded it over on an annual basis. Also, it served as his breeding grounds of sorts where he plucked his roster from during the ’74 and ’78 NCAA title runs.

From his wake upon reaching home, as if he whispered to my ear, the plaque was right. 1980 marked the beginning of his regular employment under the Benedictine administration. Because prior to that, upon graduating college in the early 70s, Coach Ato was gainfully employed by the father of restauranteur of TGIF’s and Italian’s fame, Jack Rodriguez, his cousin, in their Hemp-based rope manufacturing operations as a roving salesman who plied the whole of Luzon. So from ’72 to ’79, he was at SBC during practices only.

But it was his passion for coaching that he easily decided to forego his lucrative career as a marketing executive in favor of growing with his beloved San Beda Red Cubs. After that, he never regretted making that decision.

Why would he?

Fourteen NCAA titles from the 80s to the 00s, countless National Inter-Secondary chips, along with the SBPs, Pasarelle, PRADA, MMBL, Father Martin’s Cup, Fil-Oil, and dual meets and invitationals all throughout the nation, easily it could breach the 300 barriers!

No wonder, coco cloth streamers displayed on the San Beda College arch never got dirty with the dust and all, because, on a weekly basis, it was replaced by another championship banner from a team he was coaching. For the Red Cubs, under his tutelage, winning chips were like breathing air. It came naturally because of the system he implemented under his watch.

On his broad shoulders stand the all-time greats of Ph basketball. The names of Joey Loyzaga, Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Dindo Pumaren, Eric Altamirano, Gerry Esplana, Boybits Victoria, LA Tenorio, all earned their spurs on wooden court number 1.

Coach Ato gave it all, his once in generation, servant leadership stands out from where I come from, in an age where he could have easily made money out of his reputation, he chose not to. He did it for the love of the game. The reason why, I’m writing a coffee-table book entitled, Unheralded, to honor and carry his legacy for Bedans of the next generation.

by Peter Lopez  (GS -1984 and HS – 1998, Benedictine Abbey School / CAS 1993 San Beda University)