CHICAGO — Pat Aquino wore size 13 shoes during his playing days at Red Bull and Blu Detergent in the now-defunct PBL.
As a coach, though, he left behind a much bigger pair for whoever will fill his spot at the women’s national team.
The bar of success Aquino built at Gilas Pilipinas Women was so high that his dismissal last March stunned the local basketball community.
READ Burke 'BT' Toews named new head coach of Gilas Pilipinas Women
After vetting several candidates, the Samahang Badketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced Aquino’s successor via a social media post today,
There was smoke in the chimney alright, but it was bland and didn’t captivate the imagination.
Burke “BT” Toews is the new Gilas women’s coach.
UNIMPRESSIVE.
No offense to Mr. Toews but after starry, starry names such as Tom Hovasse and his deputy Ryan Richman were floated, it’s hard not to feel underwhelmed.
Hovasse led Japan's women’s team to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics while Richman had an assistant coaching stint with the Washington Wizards in the NBA.
Toews is someone you have to Google.
“Who?” a current PBA coach asked me via text message when the news dripped with his Wednesday morning coffee.
I wish I could tell him.
CREDENTIAL VERSUS TRACK RECORD.
Given how this search was so expansive, and conducted with the discreetness of a medical file, to come up with less than Hovasse or Richman is doubly disappointing.
In a coaching career that began in 1996, the 60-year-old Toews has had stops in the B.League as an assistant before landing as head coach of the Fujisu Red Wave in the Japan Women’s Basketball League ( JWBL).
Toews has a nice resume.
But Pat Aquino had a proven record that was historic in its proportions. And he did so with less than a wealthy wage, let alone US dollars.
Hiring a foreign coach is sexy, fashionable.
But it doesn’t always mean it’s an upgrade.
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