Former NBA champion and Coach of the Year winner Byron Scott is back in the Philippines, this time as head coach of FilNation Select-USA in the 2025 Smart NBTC National Finals presented by SM Supermalls and Playtime Cares.

The American squad, the current Division 1 defending champion of the Philippine 19-under championship, will now be bolstered by the knowledge and experience of the onetime mentor of the likes of Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kyrie Irving, among many others.

PHOTO: NBTC/Hero Dela Pena

When asked why he decided to make a comeback to coaching, Scott kept it simple – he just can’t stay away from the game.

“Just my passion for the game, you know. I love basketball, and after being out of basketball for a little while, I was like, ‘This would be a great opportunity to coach again.’ So I took advantage of it. I love it, and I want to continue to take advantage of it,” he said.

With the NBTC National Finals running for just one week, the threat of the week-long tournament taking a toll on the players is something that every coach anticipates.

Scott, who finished his playing career with 14 seasons under his belt, is hoping that his NBA pedigree will be enough to get the players to obey his tips and tricks on conditioning.

As he put it, “When you’re young like they are, sometimes that’s a hard lesson to learn. But being that I’ve been in it and been doing this for a long time, I try to give them that little bit of wisdom and knowledge that I have about being prepared every single night.”

“The biggest thing is to get your rest. You gotta make sure you get your proper rest when you play in games like this, and they come to this fast and quickly,” he added.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Scott came here with coaching-related matters at hand.

Scott's ties to the Philippines run deeper than just basketball. His wife Cecilia Gutierriez, is a Filipino-American, and the two have already gone to Manila together back in 2016.

That's why taking in his significant other's homeland will never be out of the question.

“Like I said, I've got a passion to get back into coaching, and I’m looking forward to it and hopefully getting an opportunity,” he said.

“The focus is just to get back into coaching. You know, being here in the Philippines, or in the States at the collegiate level, that is the main focus for me right now.”

At present, though, Scott's sights are set on guiding FilNation Select to a second straight NBTC title - a feat that has only been achieved by NU-Nazareth School.

After that, he's all ears to opportunities - whether in the U.S. or the Philippines.

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