Pepperdine Waves women’s basketball assistant coach Brian Rosario will be on the sidelines of an international competition this weekend and possibly longer.
Rosario, a Waves coach of three seasons, will coach the Philippines National Team in the seven-day FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan.
Rosario called coaching the team of teenage Filipino players from Canada, the Philippines, and the U.S. an amazing opportunity.
“I’ve never dreamt that I would get to coach at the international level and represent my bloodline,” said Rosario, whose father is Filipino and mother has an Irish-English background. “Now to be able to coach for the Philippines and to create an experience for these players is beyond anything I could have asked for.”
The Philippines are one of eight squads from across Asia that are participating in the Middle East-based spectacle. Rosarios’s team is in the tournament’s Group A with Indonesia, Syria, and Samoa. The Philippines play Indonesia on Friday, Syria on Saturday and Samoa on Sunday.
The championship’s Group B consists of Kazakhstan, Iran, Jordan, and Lebanon. On June 28, the top three teams from each group will play for a chance to advance to the championship’s semifinals, held the next day. The event’s final is on June 30.
The Philippines won the silver medal at the last FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship in 2013. The tournament is held every two years. Rosario, a college coach of nearly two decades, earned the opportunity to coach the Philippines after participating in the first Fil-Am tryout for the country’s Senior National Team last fall.
Pepperdine head coach Kristen Dowling is excited for Rosario.
“He has proven himself to be a great coach and now has the opportunity to represent the Philippines in international competition,” she said. “This is a huge honor and I look forward to hearing about this team’s success.”
Rosario said experiencing the foods, culture, and history of Jordan will be a highlight of the trip.
“Well, along with competing for the gold medal,” he said.