UNIVERSITY of the Philippines coach Goldwin Monteverde is added as deputy coach of Gilas Pilipinas for the July window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
SPIN.ph learned from sources Monteverde has been tapped to assist head coach Nenad Vucinic during the qualifiers to be held in New Zealand and Manila.
[See RSA, MVP sit down in bid to form 'best Gilas team' to World Cup]
Monteverde steered the UP Fighting Maroons to a huge upset of an Ateneo Blue Eagles coached by former Gilas coach Tab Baldwin in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball finals, ending the school's 36-year title drought.
Monteverde already showed up at Gilas Pilipinas' practice and shared pleasantries with Vucinic.
Two members of that UP champion team, Carl Tamayo and Ricci Rivero, are members of the Gilas pool for the coming qualifiers.
Tamayo was named to the Gilas squad that will play a pair of tune-up games with the Korean national team on June 17 and 18.
In a statement, the UP community said it's an honor to have its men's basketball coach help Gilas Pilipinas.