A CHANGING of the guard at San Beda may lead to a comeback for one of the best coaches in college basketball.
UAAP and NCAA champion coach Aldin Ayo is one of the frontrunners for the Red Lions coaching job as the school prepares for changes after losing to rival Letran in the last NCAA Season 97 men's basketball finals, sources bared.
There is no official word on the fate of current head coach Boyet Fernandez, who won a PBA championship with Sta. Lucia and four NCAA titles in two tours of duty with San Beda - the last in 2018.

However, it is almost certain that back-to-back losses in the NCAA, including the Red Lions missing out of the Finals for the first time in 17 years, will cost Fernandez his job in a school with such high standards in men's basketball.
When San Beda makes Fernandez's replacement official in the next few days, Ayo will be among those in the frame for one of the most high-profile coaching jobs in college basketball along with former Ateneo guard Yuri Escueta.
Former TNT, Phoenix and Letran coach Louie Alas also has an 'outside shot' at the job, a source added.
But the most high-profile candidate is no doubt Ayo, who may end up making a comeback in a league where he won a championship with Letran both as a player (1999) and coach (2015), ironically at the expense of San Beda.
[See As a player, Aldin Ayo also won an NCAA title with Letran]
Ayo also won a UAAP championship with La Salle back in 2016 and led University of Santo Tomas to the finals in Season 82, but fell foul of the league rules at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with his 'Sorsogon bubble.'
He has since been slapped with an indefinite ban by the UAAP which is under appeal.
But if there is one coach who has an inside track on the job, it should be Escueta. He played high school basketball at San Beda under legendary coach Ato Badolato before moving to Ateneo, where he won a championship in the Norman Black era.
[See Former Ateneo guard Yuri Escueta finds true calling as a coach]
Escueta also has long-standing ties with top San Beda backer MVP Group, having served as assistant coach both at Ateneo and TNT.
Sources said both Ayo and Escueta are available for the San Beda position.
So who would it be?
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