COACHING brothers Olsen and Nash Racela may not have belonged together under the same team in their PBA careers.
But as they say, blood is thicker than water.
Olsen Racela admitted getting tips from his younger brother from time to time though they've always been known to belong to opposite camps.
He likes to consider Nash as among his mentors as far as coaching is concerned, along with PBA's winningest coach Tim Cone, to whom he serves as current deputy at Barangay Ginebra.
"Kung mentorship man, of course andiyan si coach Tim, but si Nash palagi kong tinatawagan yun," Racela disclosed.
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"Although we have different philosophies, pero siya yung parang (mentor ko)."
Nash is presently coaching Blackwater after a similar stint with TNT Katropa two years ago. He served as long-time assistant to five-time Coach of the Year Chot Reyes at Coke, and later on with TNT Katropa.
He also steered the Batangas Blades to the national championship in the final season of the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) and powered the Far Eastern University Tamaraws to the UAAP men's basketball title in 2015.
So in terms of extensive coaching experience, Olsen would often ask for advice from his younger brother.
"Mas matanda ako sa kanya, pero mas nauna siyang nag-coach sa akin," said the one-time San Miguel Beer great.
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"Malaking influence of course, si coach Tim. Malaking influence yung kapatid ko."
As coach of FEU now, Olsen gets to work with Nash on the Tamaraws bench as the younger Racela serves as team consultant of the school.
And the 49-year-old guard said he's learning a lot more.
"As a coach kailangan meron kang parang mentor, just as a player na kailangan kang meron mentor," said Olsen, who had a brief stint coaching San Miguel Beer.
"As a coach dapat meron ka rin ganun (mentor) para kahit papaano, matutulungan ka niya sa mga decisions mo or at least, somewhat meron kang mapagta-tanungan." (RG)
