Fort Acuna took shots at Robert Jaworski after he was fired as Toyota coach during halftime of Game 3 of the 1980 PBA All-Filipino championship series against Crispa.
Acuna lashes at Jaworski
‘He’s immature and insecure’
By Ding Marcelo
Bulletin Today
Published Saturday Dec. 13, 1980
Fortunato Acuna, fired from his post as coach of the country’s leading ball clubs, yesterday, labelled Robert Jaworski as “immature and insecure” who could not accept the fact that he, indeed, was the coach of the Toyota Tamaraws.
Meeting the press less than 24 hours after he got his walking papers from Toyota team manager Pablo Carlos, Jr., Acuna said Jaworski sowed the seeds of demoralization in the Toyota camp and deliberately ignored game instructions to the detriment of the team.
“I believe he is immature and insecure,” Acuna said of the Toyota star who was the PBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1978 when Acuna was still playing guard for the Tamaraws.
Acuna was fired in the middle of game No. 3 in the best-of-five All-Filipino title series with the Crispa Redmanizers after he repeatedly ignored Carlos’ requests that he field in Jaworski.
After Acuna left, the Tamaraws rallied and went on to beat the Redmanizers, 97-94, that prevented Crispa from completing a 20-game sweep.
Acuna, who inherited the coaching job two years ago from Dante Silverio who resigned after he was overruled by management on what he termed were “matters of principle,” said he himself had planned to resign twice when he could not get the full cooperation of the players and management.
The first one was when Toyota lost the first conference title to U-Tex and the other just before the start of the final round of the current tournament. Both times he changed his mind.
The one-time University of the Philippines standout said management was getting fed up with the team’s poor performances and the internal factions that were building. Several plans were devised to motivate the team, all to no avail, Acuna said.
Just to prove his point, martial music was even utilized to fire up the team just before it met Crispa last Dec. 2. But still the Redmanizers won this time by 29 points, 142-113, the Tamaraws worst licking at the hands of Crispa.
According to Acuna, there seems no way Toyota could be motivated and this was because Jaworski never played his best while he was coaching the team.
“The team played best against Crispa when Jaworski was not playing. Since he is an important player, he affects the rest,” Acuna said.
As a last recourse, Acuna said he would resign as coach, win or lose, in last Thursday’s game just so he would see the team play its best.
Just to be sure, however, Acuna said he deliberately did not use Jaworski knowing that he would be fired as coach and this would unify the team.
The scenario is mind-boggling, but Acuna may have proven his point because as soon as he was fired, the team played one of its best this series to stop the Redmanizers.
“I thought of a drastic plan to bench him during the first half knowing that I will be fired on the spot,” Acuna said. “I thought, and correctly so, that my dismissal will rally all my players including Jaworski.”
“Only by sacrificing myself was I able to get something out of my players, particularly Jaworski.”
On the same note, Acuna defended his position as coach saying it was his prerogative to use and not to use a player.
He said he would rather be fired in defense of this prerogative rather than surrender it to management.
This was his answer to allegations that he exercised insubordination when he refused to follow Carlos’ instructions that he use Jaworski.
Recalling his early start as Toyota coach, Acuna said he used the democratic method in many situations. He would ask each player ideas and this would get them involved hoping it would be good for the team.
Eventually, he decided that he alone will decide for the team. This, he said was resented by Jaworski but not the majority of players.
After this, several factions, in fact, three, were formed one headed by Jaworski. He did not mention the other two.
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