Chambers joins Gilas Pilipinas

By Robert Andaya

REMEMBER  former PBA “Best Import” awardee Sean Chambers?

Chambers, who  bagged six championships with Alaska Milk as import from 1989 to 2001, including a grand slam in the 1996 season, is back

But this time, the 59-year-old native of Los Angeles, California is returning to the country as  one of the assistant coaches of Tim Cone in the  Gilas Pilipinas team seeing action in the  FIBA Olympic QualifyingTournament scheduled in Riga, Latvia next month.

“We just looked around and said we’re short,” said Cone in an interview posted in the official PBA website.

“Sean came at the last minute. He stepped in. He played with me for 13 years, he knows me personally as well as anybody I’ve ever met,” added Cone, saying Chambers would be a good addition to the coaching staff of the 11-man Gilas team.

“Sean knows our system, he knows the Triangle, so he’s just the perfect guy. And if you have been around him, he’s  always one of the most valuable people around you.”

Cone said Chambers,  a recipient of the PBA’s “Mr. 100 Percent” award in 1991, is also already in the country after accepting the head coaching job at Far Eastern University in the UAAP.

With Chambers already in the country, Cone said asking  him join the Gilas coaching staff even on a short notice is a lot easy.

“We begged him and we begged FEU. Thank goodness, he said yes and FEU said yes,” recalled Cone.

The multi-titled Barangay Ginebra coach  said Chambers will join Jong Uichico as his assistant  coach in the absence of LA Tenorio and Josh Reyes.

Tenorio is busy doing a lot of duties with Barangay Ginebra, while Reyes is with the Gilas Pilipinas U-17 team in  the FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.

Another assistant  coach, Richard Del Rosario, is now a full-time team manager of Gilas.