GILAS Pilipinas Youth will soon have a new head coach as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is in the final phase of determining who will take over the program.
SBP executive director Erika Dy hinted that a deal is imminent, waiting only for the formal signing of a contract for the coach that will take over after Josh Reyes stepped down from the Batang Gilas post last September.
READ Kelly Williams dreams of seeing sons play for Gilas Pilipinas
“We haven’t signed a contract yet with anyone but I think mukhang closed na ‘to,” said Dy, who declined to identify the coach as the SBP will make an announcement once both parties have officially reached an agreement.
An announcement could come as early as next week, Dy added.
Reyes will stay on as an assistant coach in the seniors squad under Tim Cone. The next Youth coach may not necessarily become part of Cone's staff, but Dy hopes to see closer coordination to ensure continuity in the national team program.
The next coach who will be tasked to coach all the levels of the youth program is unlikely to come from the varsity ranks, sources said, since such situations have raised issues on conflicts of interest and recruitment in the past.
Gilas Youth competed in the 2024 Fiba Under-17 Basketball World Cup, an event it qualified for after reaching the semifinals of the Fiba Under-16 Asian Championship the prior year, but failed to win a single game after their star player Kieffer Alas went down with an injury.
The youth squad also saw action in the Fiba Under-18 Asian Championship this year, but missed a seat in the quarterfinals after another setback when Andy Gemao also got hurt.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
