CHARLES Tiu will have veteran international coach Will Voigt by his side when Mighty Sports compete in the 2019 Dubai International Basketball Tournament.
"Will's track record speaks for himself," said Tiu. "He's had a lot of different accomplishments already in the international basketball scene. I am very excited to learn from him. I've always been a big fan of having international coaches out here to learn from them."
Voigt, 43, has been coaching Angola since 2017 and was at the sidelines for the 2019 Fiba World Cup in China.
He previously served as an assistant in Texas and Metro State, before signing as a head coach for Ulrike Elite in Norway, Vermont Frost Heaves, and Bakersfield Jam in the NBA G-League.
The Pomona graduate also worked as an assistant with the Shanxi Brave Dragons in the Chinese Basketball League (CBA) before leading the Nigerian national team to the Afrobasket 2015 title.
Voigt has previously expressed his desire to coach in the country and this stint with
Mighty, which is supported by Go for Gold and eMedsure, will be his first taste of the Philippine brand of basketball.
It made the invite all the more easier, said Tiu.
"I know Will has had some interest to coach here. I know he would love to be part of our national team and even do some clinics here. So when I got the chance to invite him, he was all for it," he said.
Tiu is thrilled to work hand-in-hand with Voigt, the same way he learned from Rajko Toroman when the former Smart Gilas coach served as his assistant at Mighty last year before taking in the head coaching gig in the Indonesian basketball team.
"We've seen it from the likes of coach Tab Baldwin, Rajko Toroman, and Mark Dickel, to name a few, and those are guys I've learned from. So to have another coach whom I can learn from will be great. Basketball is about learning and trying to be the best version you can of yourself. so for someone like him to be able to come out here and impart knowledge, it would be good," said Tiu.
Mighty already has a bumper crop of talent led by naturalized center Andray Blatche, as well as young studs in Kai Sotto, Dave Ildefonso, and Gomez de Liano brothers Juan and Javi.
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