Gilas Pilipinas Men’s program director Tab Baldwin has always put a premium on players learning the European way of basketball.
And Kiefer Ravena will certainly get to learn from a world champion coach once he gets to Shiga.
To continue its revamp, the Lakestars replaced Australian Shawn Dennis with Spaniard Luis Guil Torres last month.
Torres had been with B.League Division 3 team Saga Ballooners since 2019 before the promotion.
And Torres has a wealth of experience under his belt.
The 49-year-old tactician is the lead assistant of Italian coach Sergio Scariolo in the Spanish national team for the past few years. Guil was also part of the La Roja team that won gold in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
He also coached Spanish teams Fuenlabrada, UCAM Murcia, and Zaragoza.
Torres had also been handling Spain’s youth teams for the past two decades, while being named as Coach of the Year by Venezuelan league LPB.
Back in 2004, he guided Spain’s youth team that had Sergio Rodríguez, Sergio Llull, and Carlos Suarez to the FIBA Under-18 European Championship.
Tapping Ravena and Torres are part of the major reconstruction by the Lakestars for the 2021-22 season of the B.League.
Shiga is coming off a sixth place finish in the B.League’s West District. Japan national team pool member Kevin Hareyama headlines the team.
