Sandy Arespacochaga named new Batang Gilas coach

MANILA, Philippines – Batang Gilas gets a new mentor in Ateneo Blue Eagles assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced Friday.

Arespacochaga filled in the vacant spot that was vacated by predecessor Josh Reyes, who was relieved of his duty in October last year, and should immediately start preparations as the team gears up for the FIBA World Cup U-19 tourney set June 29 to July 7 in Heraklion, Greece and FIBA-Asia Under-16 a few months later.

He will handle a team considered one of the strongest teams formed as it will be headed by the talented duo of 7-1 Kai Sotto and 6-11 AJ Edu.

“Sandy has proven his worth as a youth basketball coach,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president said Al Panlilio in a statement. “He has won championships in the high school level and has been an active member of the highly successful Ateneo college basketball program.”

“Batang Gilas U-19 has performed well and it is important that we give them a great fighting chance to win games and get the valuable experience necessary to be competitive in that age group consistently,” he added.

Arespacochaga has an impressive and lengthy resume as both a player and a coach. He played for Ateneo in the 90s then led the Ateneo juniors team to back-to-back championships in 1999 and 2000 as a coach.

The mentor is also fresh from Ateneo's two straight championships in the seniors division.

Arespacochaga is also one of the assistant coaches of the TNT Katropa in the PBA. – With a report from Joey Villar