Canadian coach Burke Toews named head coach of Gilas Pilipinas Women
The national women's basketball team appointed Burke Toews this month after ending the previous coach's 11-year tenure. Toews brings experience from Japan's professional leagues and grassroots programs.
RapplerThe Gilas Pilipinas Women’s team appointed a new head coach this month, ending the prior coach’s 11-year tenure. Canadian coach Burke Toews took over the national team, bringing decades of experience across multiple levels of basketball. Toews played collegiate basketball for the University of Winnipeg before pursuing a professional career in Canada and Germany.
He later transitioned into coaching, earning his coaching license from 2005 to 2012 before moving to Kobe, Japan, where he worked as a physical education teacher and basketball coach.
League. In 2014, he joined the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Japan Women’s Basketball League as an assistant coach before returning in 2018 as head coach. Under his leadership, Fujitsu captured back-to-back league titles in 2024 and 2025, along with the 2025 Empress Cup crown.
Those championship runs came shortly before the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas hired him. During his stint away from Fujitsu, Toews also handled the Sun Rockers Shibuya in the 2016-2017 season and the Toyama Grouses in the 2017-2018 campaign. Toews has lived in Japan for more than three decades.
Player development background Beyond the professional level, Toews has long been recognized for his work in grassroots basketball development. During his time with Fujitsu, he helped develop players who later competed for Japan’s national team. His reputation for player development could prove relevant for Gilas Pilipinas as the women’s program undergoes a transition period with the emergence of young talents such as Kacey dela Rosa, Kent Pastrana, Ella Fajardo, Naomi Panganiban, Vanessa de Jesus, and Camille Clarin.
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