Tom Hovasse influence shapes Gilas Women search for next head coach

“Two things: first, I want to officially say that Gilas Pilipinas Women has already agreed with its upcoming head coach. It’s a name that I cannot announce yet because we’re still finalizing the details of the contract,” Pamintuan said.

“But a lot of the terms have already been agreed upon, and it will be announced, I think in the next two days after everything is signed. So we’re just waiting for the formality before we get to announce it,” he added.

With the assistance of former Japan men’s and women’s head coach Tom Hovasse — a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a two-time FIBA Asia Cup champion — Pamintuan also confirmed that Gilas Women is set to appoint a foreign coach.

Pamintuan clarified, however, that Hovasse was not a candidate for the position and did not apply for the job.

Instead, the SBP sought his insights as a reference in the search for the next head coach, who will be tasked with steering the program toward breakthroughs in the Asian Games, FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, and the Olympics.

“In terms of Gilas Pilipinas Women, the SBP had a conversation with former Japan Women’s and Men’s head coach Tom Hovasse. But it was never in an interview capacity. He never applied for the job. He was not considered for the job, but his input as a reference was valued by the Federation,” Pamintuan shared.

“We all know that Japan has a really strong women’s program. Currently, I believe they’re number three in Asia, including Australia, China, and Japan. And we want to emulate the same success as Japan. We’ve seen their results so that is why the search for Gilas Pilipinas Women Head Coach skewed towards that direction,” he added.

“So again, we really thank Coach Tom Hovasse for his input. We value everything that he shared with us. But the SBP wants to clarify that he did not apply for the job. He never interviewed for the job. We just were able to talk to him as a reference in terms of helping us find the best candidate we need in this specific time.”

(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team

In addition to Aquino’s departure as head coach, Ateneo boys’ basketball head coach Bacon Austria has been named Gilas Women program director.

Austria recently guided the Blue Eagles to a breakthrough Final Four appearance, finishing third with an 11–3 record in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Tournament.

(C) UAAP Season 86 Media Team

Meanwhile, long-time Ateneo assistant Sandy Arespacochaga has been appointed head coach of the Gilas Youth Women program, taking over from former mentor Julie Amos.

This marks Arespacochaga’s return to the national team setup after previously serving as head coach of Gilas Youth in 2019.

“I think you have already kind of seen it, but Gilas Pilipinas Youth Women will be led by coach Sandy Arespacochaga. He has been running the practices with the team and they’re already deep in their preparations for their SEABA competitions this June,” Pamintuan said, referring to the 2026 FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers in Bacolod from June 2 to 6.