San Beda taps Yuri Escueta as new head coach

After a long search, San Beda University has finally found its next coach.

The Red Lions have tapped Yuri Escueta as the new head coach, taking over the post previously held by Boyet Fernandez from 2017 to 2022. Team manager Jude Roque confirmed the development to GMA News Online on Tuesday night.

According to Roque, Escueta's coaching staff will include former Red Lions Jenkins Mesina, Alex Angeles and Francis Cruz along with former Ateneo player Andre Santos.

Fernandez, meanwhile, remains in the fold but will serve as an active consultant.

"It's now official. Yuri Escueta is the new head coach of the San Beda Red Lions," said Roque.

"A former San Beda juniors standout and a proud Coach Ato Badolato protégé, Yuri returns to his high school alma mater with a rich basketball coaching knowledge gained from several outstanding tacticians from his college days to his various coaching stints as assistant coach for Ateneo, Gilas, and TNT."

Escueta will inherit a San Beda crew that is led by Filipino-Canadian guard James Kwekuteye and a couple of veterans in JB Bahio, Ralph Penuela, Peter Alfaro, and JV Gallego.

They will also be bolstered by young talents in Jacob Cortez, Yukien Andrada, Rhayyan Amsali, Justine Sanchez, and Tony Ynot, who were all integral in their recent campaign.

Escueta is expected to start calling the shots in the ongoing FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup before they start a new campaign in the NCAA Season 98 this September. -- BAP, GMA News