by Jonas Terrado
Former Gilas Pilipinas coach Rajko Toroman will call the shots for Indonesia in time the Southeast Asian Games which starts in November.
Toroman confirmed his new role in a televised interview held during the first half of Phoenix Pulse’s 97-87 win over NorthPort where he watched the PBA Commissioner’s Cup alongside former La Salle center Marko Batricevic.
The Serbian mentor was in Jakarta recently where he was introduced as coach of the Indonesian side which hopes to pull some surprises in the SEAG in Manila.
Toroman is best known for steering Iran to the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a roster powered by Hamed Haddadi, Mahdi Kamrani and Samad Nikkah Bahrami.
He also coached the original Gilas squad composed of then-amateur stars Chris Tiu, Mark Barroca, Jvee Casio, Japeth Aguilar and naturalized player Marcus Douthit from 2009 to 2011.
Toroman is in town to begin serving as a part of Charles Tiu’s coaching staff of Mighty Sports-Philippines which will compete in next month’s William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
Mighty seeks to capture its second Jones Cup crown after ruling the competition in 2016.
