Jefferson "Jeff" Napa (born September 19, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player and coach. He is the current head coach of the

NU Bulldogs The NU Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs, Bullpups and Lady Bullpups are the collegiate men's and women's, and high school men's and women's, respectively, varsity teams of National University (NU) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippin ...

in the

UAAP The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univer ...

and currently serving as an assistant for the

NorthPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

in the PBA. He previously coached the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights and Lady Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The high school varsity teams are called the ''Squires''. The college's varsity te ...

in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Playing career

Jeff Napa was part of the first-ever NU Bulldogs men's basketball team that made it to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

phase of the UAAP basketball tournament in UAAP Season 64. He also tied the record held by Allan Caidic for the most number of three-points made in a single UAAP game. However, the Bulldogs did not advance in the Finals series after their loss against De La Salle Green Archers in the final four series. After his collegiate basketball career, Napa played for the teams John-O, Viva Mineral Water and Fash Liquid Laundry Detergent in the Philippine Basketball League.

Coaching career

In 2005, Manny Dandan, the then-head coach of NU Bulldogs invited Napa to join the team as an assistant coach and he later accepted it. Napa was later appointed as Head Coach of NU Bullpups junior's basketball team where he successfully steered three championships (Season 74, 76 and 78) with the squad in the last five years.

Move to Letran Knights

Napa emerged as one of the frontrunners for the coaching job of the Letran Knights, replacing NCAA Season 91 men's basketball champion coach Aldin Ayo who is now the head coach of the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP. Right after the championship run of NSNU Bullpups on the UAAP Season 78 juniors basketball tournament, Napa openly admitted in an interview that he is in talks with the

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran (), also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. I ...

officials about his possibility to take over the coaching duty for Letran Knights. The search committee unanimously voted for Napa after a series of interviews of applicants including Napa, Mapua Cardinals assistant coach Randy Alcantara, Adamson Falcons assistant coach Mike Fermin, and Letran alumnus Elvis Tolentino. On March 8, 2016, Napa was appointed as the new head coach of Letran Knights men's basketball team in a news conference held at the Salon de Actos in the Letran's main campus in

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. He also decided to stay in the NU Bullpups program as a team consultant. Napa's deputy, Chico Manabat, who is also the husband of volleyball player Dindin Santiago-Manabat, took over as head coach of the Bullpups starting Season 79. Manabat, Jay Agleron, and Leo Pujante also joined the coaching staff of the Knights. Napa will be the second non-Letran alumnus to take the coaching job of the men's basketball team, after Louie Alas, who handled the team that won three championships in NCAA men's basketball.

Return to National University

Napa will return to National University, this time coaching the seniors team NU Bulldogs starting in 2022.

Coaching record

Collegiate record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napa, Jeff 1981 births Filipino men's basketball coaches NU Bulldogs basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Living people Letran Knights basketball coaches NorthPort Batang Pier coaches 21st-century Filipino sportsmen