Sandy Arespacochaga named new Gilas Pilipinas Youth Women head coach

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas continued its overhaul of the Gilas Pilipinas program after appointing veteran tactician Sandy Arespacochaga as the new head coach of the national women’s Under-18 team.

Arespacochaga takes over from Julie Amos as Gilas Pilipinas Youth gears up for the 2026 FIBA Women’s U-18 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers.

He became the latest addition to SBP's ongoing revamp after the federation appointed Juno Sauler as the new Gilas Youth Men head coach last January to replace LA Tenorio. Gilas Pilipinas Women has also parted ways with Patrick Aquino, though the federation has yet to name his replacement.

Arespacochaga serves as one of TNT's deputy coaches in the PBA and as part of the Ateneo Blue Eagles coaching staff in the UAAP.

He is no stranger to the international stage, having previously handled Gilas Pilipinas in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup while bringing a wealth of experience from both the collegiate and professional coaching ranks.

“First of all, he is a teacher. At this stage, he fits perfectly in shaping the girls’ future. More than winning, his focus is on developing the girls into better basketball players and better people," Gilas Pilipinas Women program director Bacon Austria said.

"On the basketball aspect, Coach Sandy is no stranger to FIBA tournaments. He’s already coached Gilas Youth Men and assisted Gilas Men at the World Cup level.”

SBP said it had already sought the assistance from both National University and University of Santo Tomas to help Arespacochaga build his coaching staff.

“For the assistant coaches, we asked the NU and UST high school programs to lend us one of their coaches to help Coach Sandy,” Austria added.

“UST and NU have been dominating women’s high school competitions, and most of the talented players in that age group are with their programs already, so it made perfect sense to make sure they will have representation in the coaching staff.”

Arespacochaga's first assignment is the SEABA Qualifiers that Bacolod will host from June 2 to 6. The Philippines, however, is already guaranteed a spot in the 2026 FIBA Women’s U-18 Asia Cup after winning Division B in 2024 and earning a Division A promotion.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News