MANILA — New coach BT Toews is working with his chemistry with the Gilas Pilipinas women, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy said on Tuesday.
Dy said that Toews has been talking to the women's basketball players even outside training, and has already connected with Fil-American players in the US NCAA.
Toews succeeded former coach Pat Aquino, a longtime mentor of the national squad.
"He [BT Toews] is getting along with them. He is working on, obviously, the camaraderie of the team, 'yung pag-jell, pag-sync in, and I noticed he spends time talking to the girls a lot even during days na walang training. Nag-i-invest talaga siya doon sa relationship," said Dy during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
READ: SBP names Burke 'BT' Toews as new Gilas Pilipinas Women coach
"He’s really also looking forward to connecting with our Fil-American players in the NCAA. Maya’t maya, magkukwento siya sa akin na nakausap niya on the phone or nag-Zoom meeting sila. We're really looking forward to how he fares here in Mexico. Siyempre first tournament, may kaba 'yan, pero we're confident na we chose the right coach for them," added Dy.
Toews is even immersing himself into Filipino culture, riding public transportation as well as the MRT, the basketball executive shared.
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"May mga araw na sumasakay siya ng jeep at MRT. Para sa foreigner to do that na bagong-bago lang dito, you can see that he’s really exerting an effort to embrace our culture, which I think is admirable. Ini-immerse niya talaga 'yung sarili niya dito at inaalam niya kung paano tayo mamuhay mga Pilipino," said Dy.
Toews' first official tour of duty with Gilas Women is the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, next month.