Baby Dalupan

Who is Baby Dalupan?

Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan is a Filipino former basketball coach and player. He is the son of University of the East founder Dr. Francisco T. Dalupan Sr.

Known to many as The Maestro, Dalupan is best known for his lengthy coaching tenure in the Philippine Basketball Association, where he led the Crispa Redmanizers to the league's first-ever Grand Slam in 1976 and the Great Taste Coffee Makers to four championships in the 1980s. He also coached the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs to a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 championship victory over the Alaska Milkmen in 1990. To date, he is sharing the most PBA coaching titles with Tim Cone having 15 across their names.

Aside from his accomplishments in the PBA, Dalupan also gained prominence by coaching the University of the East Red Warriors to 12 UAAP titles and the Ateneo Blue Eagles to 2 NCAA titles. He is the architect behind the Warriors seven straight titles in the UAAP, the longest championship streak in the history of the league. Dalupan had previously attended the Ateneo de Manila University and was a member of the basketball team, captain of the football team, and a member of the track and field team.

On May 28, 2005, Dalupan and fellow PBA great Robert Jaworski were inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame. Later that night, he coached the Legends Team to a 96-92 victory over Jaworski's Greats Team in the PBA's Classic Greatest Game, a game that featured many of the players who were named to the league's 25 greatest players of all time.