Leovino R. Austria (born March 14, 1958), better known as Leo Austria, is a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the
San Miguel Beermen in the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
(PBA).
Playing career
Austria played his college basketball for the
Lyceum of the Philippines University while also suiting up in the commercial Philippine Amateur Basketball League via Masagana 99. In 1984, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Ambassador's Cup before joining the PBA.
In
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, a new team
Formula Shell drafted him, aside from nabbing fellow PABL standout
Sonny Cabatu
Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...
in the said draft. He made a quick impact for the new but veteran laden Shell squad and won the Rookie of the Year honors at season's end. His average of 3.9 points per game for that
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
marked the lowest average for a Rookie of the Year awardee up to that time.
During his stint at Shell, he played backup point guard for
Bernie Fabiosa
Bernie Fabiosa (born July 23, 1954) is a retired Filipino professional basketball player and actor. He spent most of his playing days with the Crispa Redmanizers in the PBA. During his heyday, he is tops in career steals, earning for himself th ...
,
Al Solis
Alfonso Solis (born December 23, 1962), better known as Al Solis, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Amateur career
Solis started in 1977 with the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers ...
, then
Ronnie Magsanoc
Ronald "Ronnie" Magsanoc (born April 11, 1966) is a Filipino coach, basketball analyst, and retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was known for his moniker "The Point Laureate".
Collegiate car ...
.
[ He later played for ]Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi wa ...
and was out of the league after the 1993 season. In 394 games played, he averaged 4.5 points a ballgame. He was known for his three-point shooting.[
In 1988, he was awarded the Quezon Medalya ng Karangalan Award for Sports. The QMK Award is given to outstanding Quezonians who excelled in their chosen fields. In 1999, he suited up for a few games as a playing coach for his team Chowking due to injuries of his point guards.
]
Coaching career
Philippine Basketball League
Austria's first coaching stint was for Chowking during the late 90s. During those days, he steered Chowking to numerous semifinal appearances but were unable to clinch a finals appearance against powerhouse and PBA-bound team Tanduay
Tanduay Distillers, Inc. () is a Philippine alcoholic beverage company. It is a subsidiary of LT Group, a conglomerate owned by Filipino business magnate Lucio Tan. As of 2019, it is the world's largest rum brand.
History
Tanduay traces its ...
, Red Bull, and Welcoat.
After Chowking was renamed as Shark Energy Drink in 2000, he led the team to two titles in four finals matches against Welcoat from 2000 to 2002. He coached a team led by Chester Tolomia, Roger Yap, Ervin Sotto
Ervin Amedo Sotto (born July 30, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He was also an assistant coach for the NLEX Road Warriors. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2004 PBA draft by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs. ...
, and Gilbert Malabanan.
In late 2002, he moved to former rival Welcoat Paints as its new head coach after returning from a one conference absence. With a star-studded lineup of Rommel Adducul
Rommel Adducul (born April 21, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Adamson Soaring Falcons of the UAAP.
Career
In college, Adducul, a three-time Most Valuable Player, led ...
, Paul Artadi
Paul Anthony Dy Artadi (born May 5, 1981) is a Filipino politician, basketball coach, and former professional player. On his eleven-year career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), he played the point guard position and was a three-tim ...
, Eddie Laure
Eddie Bicoy Laure (born July 6, 1977) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and politician. Known by many as The Dominator and more recently, The Bounty Hunter for his daring and stunning ability to search and get loose balls on t ...
, Ronald Tubid
Ronald Tubid (born October 15, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is the team manager of the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the P ...
, and Marc Pingris
Jean Marc Prado Pingris Jr. (born October 16, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. Known as one of the best defenders and rebounders in PBA history, he was named one of the league's 40 Greatest Players.
He spent 14 season ...
, he led the Paintmasters to the 2002 PBL Challenge Cup championship over Dazz in a three-game sweep.
He later led Welcoat to a runner-up finish in 2003 with James Yap
James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he had played for ...
as one of its star players.
Shell Turbo Chargers
In 2004, Shell dismissed American head coach John Moran and named Austria as its new head coach, 19 years after starting his PBA career with the said team. During his only season with the Turbo Chargers, he coached a young but talented team of Tony dela Cruz
Anthony Bryan Davis dela Cruz (born August 24, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player and coach. He played majority of his career for the Alaska Aces (PBA), Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), ...
, Ronald Tubid
Ronald Tubid (born October 15, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is the team manager of the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the P ...
, Rookie of the Year Rich Alvarez
Richard Alvarez (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese-born Filipino former professional basketball player and coach. He last played for the Kia Picanto of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was the first overall pick of 2004 PBA D ...
, Billy Mamaril
John Billy San Luis Mamaril (born June 25, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays the forward and center positions. ...
, and Roger Yap to two semifinal appearances and a third-place finish in the 2005 PBA Fiesta Conference. However, Shell disbanded after the 2004–2005 season. He then returned to the amateur ranks.
Adamson Falcons
In 2006, Austria was named head coach of the Adamson Falcons in the UAAP replacing Mel Alas after a disappointing 3-11 stint. With him at the helm, the Falcons made their first-ever Final Four appearance since the format was introduced. However, they were eliminated by the Ateneo Blue Eagles
The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The collegiate women's ...
in a closely fought semifinals. He coached the team until in 2013, following a dismal UAAP Season 76
UAAP Season 76 is the 2013–2014 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was hosted by Adamson University with Fr. Maximino D. Rendon, C.M. as president. There were eight universities that competed in fifteen ...
campaign, he resigned. In seven seasons serving as Adamson's tactician, he piled up an overall win–loss record of 40–56, including three trips to the Final Four in Seasons 69, 73 and 74.
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters/Welcoat Dragons
In 2006, Welcoat bought the Shell franchise to join the PBA as its 10th member. With this development, Austria was renamed head coach of the Welbest franchise, this time carrying the banner of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in preparation for their PBA debut. The Painters placed third in the 2006 PBL Unity Cup in the team's final conference.
He was formally named as the head coach of the Welcoat Dragons in the PBA. But after two seasons with the team, in 2008, he resigned as head coach citing that the management wanted a new direction. His former assistant Caloy Garcia took over his spot.
San Miguel Beermen (ABL)
Austria coached the San Miguel Beermen in the ABL where he was awarded as the Coach of the Year in 2013 and helped the team win the championship that same year.
San Miguel Beermen in the PBA
In 2014, Austria renewed his ties with the San Miguel franchise by signing a one-year deal to be the head coach of the Beermen. He won his first championship with SMB as a PBA head coach after defeating the Alaska Aces in seven games of the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup Finals. But in the Commissioner's Cup the Beermen failed to qualify in the playoffs. However, in the season ending tournament of the Governor's Cup he was able to steer the Beermen to another championship once again against the Aces this time in a sweep.
Personal life
Austria is married to his wife Nanette. Nanette had a kidney transplant on the afternoon Austria won the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup. They have three kids, including Bacon, a basketball player himself. Bacon won the 2013 PBA D-League Foundation Cup with Blackwater Sports a day after his father won the 2013 ABL Finals with the San Miguel Beermen. Father and son have previously been on opposing teams in the UAAP, with Leo coaching Adamson, and Bacon playing for Ateneo.
Coaching record
Professional record
Collegiate record
References
External links
The top 20 players of the PBL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austria, Leo
1958 births
Living people
ASEAN Basketball League coaches
Basketball players from Quezon
Filipino men's basketball coaches
Filipino men's basketball players
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters coaches
Player-coaches
Shell Turbo Chargers players
TNT Tropang Giga players
Tagalog people
Lyceum Pirates basketball players
Shell Turbo Chargers draft picks
Adamson Soaring Falcons basketball coaches
San Miguel Beermen coaches
Shell Turbo Chargers coaches