By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The College of Saint Benilde Blazers are eager to end their 22-year NCAA men’s basketball title drought after tapping one of the best international coaches Philippine basketball has ever seen.
Welcome back, coach Rajko Toroman.
A familiar face to the PHL basketball scene after serving as a chief tactician to Gilas Pilipinas from 2009-2011, Toroman will again share his hoops knowledge with the country but this time, with a collegiate school.
It was Benilde’s team manager Jacob Lao and head coach Charles Tiu who announced Toroman’s arrival with the Blazers’ tertiary basketball program.
Toroman will be handling team consultant duties for the NCAA school and will be tasked to oversee the overall operations from the coaching staff to the players.
After heading the PHL national team program for four years, Toroman had numerous coaching stints in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and mentored Petron and Barako Bull.
Toroman’s PBA stint was then short-lived after he received multiple international coaching offers from all over the world.
The Serbian tactician became the architect behind Indonesia’s total basketball program revamp and helped them win several FIBA and overseas wins.
Now that Toroman resigned from his post at the Indonesian national team, the former Gilas mentor will shift his focus to the Blazers and try to win them an NCAA title.
“We are delighted to welcome coach Rajko Toroman to the College of Saint Benilde family. His wealth of experience and strategic insights will undoubtedly elevate our team’s performance. With Coach Rajko’s guidance, we are confident in reaching new heights in college basketball,” said Lao.
