Gilas Pilipinas Women head coach BT Toews. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — Even before he signed on as Gilas Pilipinas Women's head coach, BT Toews already recognized the immense potential of the Philippine women's basketball team.
The Canadian mentor arrived in the country last June and has been training with the Gilas Women's team.
Prior to joining Gilas Women, the 60-year-old won two straight championships with the Fujitsu Red Wave in the women's professional league in Japan.
In his 10 years of coaching the Red Wave, Toews led them to five finals appearances andb won three Coach of the Year awards.
"It seemed like kind of an inopportune or a strange time to step down as a coach. But I really felt strongly that at my stage of my career, I still had some personal goals that I wanted that were more than just championships," he told reporters on Thursday in Mandaluyong City.
"I think it's a little unique in this country because there's such a basketball following and people are so passionate about basketball. And of course, especially Gilas," Toews added.
He said his goals included finding a team in Asia where he can coach in English, after spending nearly three decades in Japan.
Toews explained what drew him to the Philippines to coach the Gilas Women's squad, noting the team's immense potential.
Gilas Women have been making waves, most recently its historic debut in the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Qualifiers in Lyon, France.
"Of all the teams that I thought about — and I've had some other offers in Asia to coach national teams — I thought that the Philippines, the women's, were a team that had a really high ceiling. Not just because of what happened in the last few years with Coach Pat [Aquino] and the success they had. But if things could be changed, not just on the court, but off the court, I thought that the Philippines could really get to the top tier and be a perennial contender," he explained.
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"So I accomplished two things right there. I found, I got the job with the Philippines. And second of all, I'm able to coach in English. And then the third thing was I wanted to live outside of Japan because I've been there for 30 some years," Toews added.
WHAT TOEWS IS BRINGING TO GILAS WOMEN
After nearly three decades in Japan, Toews wants to bring some philosophies, especially from his time with Red Wave, to help bring Gilas Women to greater heights.
"I will use my team more as a blueprint, not necessarily the national team, but my team at Fujitsu, where I coached for 10 years, plays not much different than the national team. Styles are very, very similar. There's not a huge difference," he explained.
"But I don't want to say that we can just bring what Japan does to the Filipino national team, the Gilas. It's not only should you not copy someone completely because you lose the essence of the players that you're coaching and what they do well, but at the same time, I feel like there's a lot of areas that we can tune up and we will imitate," Toews said.
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More than improving the skills of Gilas Women on the court, Toews underscored the significance of building trust and camaraderie with the players off the court.
"I feel a sense of urgency with the players because we have limited time. But fortunately, I'm coaching Filipino players and they're not shy. And they like to laugh and they like to smile. And so far, they're really working hard," he said.
"And I don't just build a relationship in a practice on the floor. I try to build a relationship off the floor. And that, too, it takes a while for players to trust their coach. And they're probably just as excited as me to see how I do in a game, right?" Toews added.
Though Toews has a track record of turning struggling teams into contenders, he stressed that the process won't happen overnight.
Toews pointed to Japan's women's basketball program, saying its rise came through years of steady development.
"We have high goals and we want to win every game we play. We take it one game at a time, but I won't make predictions. But my standards are high, and the players know that. They hear me in practice, what I talk about, what I accept, what I don't accept. But you know, they're human and it's going to take time. But we want to win while we're learning," he shared.
The first test for Toews with the Gilas Women squad is the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico from August 17 to 23.
Another tough task awaits Toews, as he heads back to Japan with Gilas Women for the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya next month.