NLEX announced that nine-time PBA champion coach Jong Uichico will be joining the Road Warriors as the team’s first assistant coach effective immediately.
Uichico, who is tied with Chot Reyes and Leo Austria as the third winningest coach in PBA history, will bring with him his incomparable experience as he will aid head coach Frankie Lim and lead a strong cast of assistant coaches to strengthen NLEX’s bid to win its first-ever franchise title.
The 61-year-old tactician entered the PBA back in 1993 as an assistant coach with the San Miguel Beermen. He would lead that team to six championships before winning two more as the lead tactician of Ginebra.
He had a consultant stint with Meralco and was briefly an assistant coach in TNT before he was promoted to head coach and helped the franchise win the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Uichico holds the position as the head of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Coaches’ Academy and has been a long-time coach in the Gilas Pilipinas program. He was on the bench when the team recaptured the SEA Games and Asian Games gold medals in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Hangzhou, China.
“There’s so much value in having a seasoned coach like Jong Uichico joining the Road Warriors,” said NLEX governor Ronald Dulatre. “He’s a two-time PBA Coach of the Year and is one of the finest coaches the country has ever produced.”
When he’s not actively with Gilas Pilipinas, Uichico travels all over the Philippines and even abroad to share his knowledge with hundreds and hundreds of Filipino coaches.
Now, he’ll be sharing his wealth of know-how and experience with NLEX.
“I’m thankful to the NLEX organization for trusting me with this role,” said Uichico. “I’m looking forward to working with coach Frankie, the rest of the coaching staff, and the players and I’m excited to once again be a part of the PBA as a coach.”
Uichico will be on the NLEX bench when the Road Warriors face the Blackwater Bossing on December 22 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
