INQUIRER Sports

CEBU CITY, Philippines - A revamp in the coaching staff of the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team is in the offing.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Noli Eala confirmed Monday the impending facelift that could possibly bring in three more assistants to reinforce Gilas coach Rajko Toroman's tactical crew.

Eala said Nokia Under-16 Team Pilipinas coach Eric Altamirano would join assistant coach Allan Gregorio as Toroman's regular assistants but refused to name the other two pending the SBP's negotiations with them.

An Inquirer source, however, revealed that Letran coach Louie Alas was being eyed as Toroman's chief deputy at Gilas while former PBA coach Binky Favis would probably take over the scouting chores starting January.

?We need an experienced coach to help coach Rajko while bringing in coach E (Altamirano) will provide continuity to the youth program,'' said Eala.

The same source said Gilas assistants Jude Roque and Jalma Arnedo would be transferred to the scouting team under Favis.

Getting the services of Alas for Gilas, however, will be tricky. Besides a live contract with the Knights in the NCAA, Alas has also been calling the shots for the RP Patriots in the Asean Basketball League.

As for Favis, the former Coca-Coca mentor was replaced by Kenneth Duremdes at the helm several months back, making him available for the national team.

Eala said hiring Altamirano would allow for a progressive flow of tactical knowledge from Gilas down to the youth program.

?It will bridge the gap and address the problem of continuity from the youth to the men's team,'' said Eala.

Altamirano recently coached the Nokia U16 Team Pilipinas to a fourth-place finish in the 16-nation Fiba Asia U16 Men's Championship in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Had they beaten Iran in the quarterfinals, the Nationals could have faced Korea and possibly booked one of two tickets to the Fiba World U17 Men's Championship in Hamburg, Germany next year.

The Philippines lost to eventual champion China in the semifinals and again yielded to Iran in the battle for the bronze.