MANILA – Negrense coach Teodorico “Boyet” Fernandez has been named as one of the coaching staff of the Gilas Pilipinas that will compete in the November window of the 2021 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifier in Manama, Bahrain.
The Valladolid, Negros Occidental-native said he was grateful to be part of the national team nearly three decades since capturing a gold medal as a player in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to serve the country again, this time in a coaching capacity,” Fernandez said in an interview with Spin.ph. “All I want is to be a positive contributor for this team.”
This will be the 49-year-old former Colegio de San Agustin-Bacolod product’s first national men’s basketball team coaching stint. He is the current head coach of the San Beda University Red Lions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Apart from Fernandez, also in the coaching staff of interim Gilas coach Joseph Uichico are Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas program director Thomas Baldwin and Alton Lister.
Thirteen of the 15-man roster that will go to Manama are Kobe Paras, Justine Baltazar, Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano, Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Matt and Mike Nieto, Dwight Ramos, Will Navarro, Dave Ildefonso, Calvin Oftana, and Kemark Carino.
Gilas is bracing for a grueling schedule in Bahrain, where it will take on Thailand on Nov. 26 and Nov. 30. The national team currently possesses a 1-0 slate in Group A./PN
