MANILA – Januario “Aric” del Rosario, who steered University of Santo Tomas to four consecutive championships in the UAAP men’s basketball during the ‘90s, has passed away.
Del Rosario’s son Lester confirmed yesterday afternoon that the legendary coach died in the hospital due to cardiac arrest. He was 80.
In a report by Spin.ph, del Rosario was brought to the hospital due to cough and difficulty of breathing. He was also tested for coronavirus disease 2019 although the result has yet to be released.
Del Rosario was UST’s star player in the 1960s before serving as the school’s head coach in the 1990s leading the Growling Tigers to four straight UAAP men’s basketball championships from 1993-1996.
His 1993 UST squad, led by retired PBA player Dennis Espino and Chris Cantonjos, saw the school complete a 14-game sweep of the season to end the team’s 29-year title drought.
While mentoring UST, del Rosario also served as one of the long-time deputies of head coach Tim Cone of Alaska Aces and was part of the team that won the PBA grand slam in 1996.
Del Rosario also mentored the Pampanga Dragons to Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) championship in 1998.
He won a gold medal as coach for Team Philippines in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
Del Rosario’s last collegiate coaching stint was with the University of Perpetual Help Altas, which he steered to the NCAA Final Four. His final coaching foray was with the Parañaque squad in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League./PN
