Aldin Ayo

Aldin Ayo
Member of the Sorsogon City Council
In office June 30, 2010 –June 30, 2019
Personal details
Born	Aldin Valladolid Ayo (1977-10-15) October 15, 1977 (age 46) Sorsogon City, Sorsogon, Philippines
Political party	NPC
Basketball career
Converge FiberXers
Position	Head coach
League	PBA
Career information
College	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
Coaching career	2012–present
Career history
As coach:
2014–2015	Mahindra Enforcer (assistant)
2015	Letran Knights
2015–2017	De La Salle Green Archers
2018–2020	UST Growling Tigers
2018–2020	Muntinlupa Cagers
2020–2022	Chooks-to-Go 3x3 (pro-circuit teams)
2021	Bicol Volcanoes
2022–present	Converge FiberXers
Career highlights and awards
As player: 2× NCAA champion (1998–1999) As coach: NCAA champion (2015) NCAA Coach of the Year (2015) UAAP champion (2016) FIBA 3x3 Asia Pacific Super Quest (2020)

Aldin Valladolid Ayo (born October 15, 1977) is a Filipino basketball coach and politician who currently serves as head coach for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He formerly played (in late 90s) and coached his alma mater Letran Knights.

High school career

Ayo, a native of Sorsogon City, graduated from Colegio De La Milagrosa in elementary and finished his high school education at the Our Lady of Peñafrancia Seminary in 1994. ^[1]

Collegiate career

Ayo played collegiate basketball at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran from 1998 to 2001. He teamed up with Kerby Raymundo and Chris Calaguio to help the Letran Knights win back-to-back NCAA titles in 1998 and 1999. ^{[2] [3]} As a player, he was instrumental in helping Letran win the title in 1999 when he hit the go-ahead layup in Game One of the finals against Jose Rizal College (now Jose Rizal University) Heavy Bombers. ^[4] He finished his college education with a degree in philosophy. ^[5]

Coaching career

Career beginnings

Ayo's first experience in coaching began in his hometown in Sorsogon City, calling the shots for the Aemilianum College Knights varsity team, as well as his high school alma mater's varsity squad. ^[6] He also had a basketball clinic called ABC (Ayo Basketball Clinic) Ideas, which started as a means to fund an ailing basketball program for Aemilianum College, but was shut off a year after. By the time he became councilor, he continued to conduct basketball clinics for free, until he started getting the attention of then-national youth coach Eric Altamirano, who invited him to the Nike Elite Basketball Camp, and later on, to the National Basketball Training Center. ^[7] In 2012, he joined the Alaska-Jr. NBA and JR. WNBA Camp and was awarded the Coach of the Year. His experience in the grassroots level and youth camps have earned him an invitation from then assistant coaches Glenn Capacio and Louie Gonzales to join the Kia Sorento (now Mahindra Enforcer) coaching staff in the PBA under Coach Manny Pacquiao, which he accepted. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Letran Knights

In 2014, Ayo was named the new head coach of his alma mater's varsity team, the Letran Knights, besting the likes of former college teammate Kerby Raymundo and PBA legend and fellow Letran alumnus Samboy Lim. ^[11] In 2015, even with a small lineup yet applying pressure mayhem defense and relentless run and gun offense, he led the Knights to win the NCAA Championship since 2005 and dethrone their archrivals, the erstwhile five-time champion San Beda Red Lions. He left the Knights to coach the DLSU Green Archers, citing problems with his family and the business. ^{[12] [13]} In 2016, he and FEU Tamaraws coach Nash Racela both received the Coach of the Year award by the UAAP and NCAA Press Corps in the 2016 College Basketball Awards. ^[14]

De La Salle Green Archers

In 2015, Ayo was named the new head coach of the De La Salle Green Archers following Juno Sauler's resignation after the Archers were eliminated from the Final Four. He would go on to win a championship title in his first season, which included a memorable undefeated streak by the team. ^{[15] [16]}

UST Growling Tigers

On January 3, 2018, Coach Ayo signed with the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers basketball team to be their head coach replacing former coach Rodil "Boy" Sablan who resigned in November 2017. This will be his second time coaching a Dominican school after leading Letran to a title in 2015.

One year after taking over as head coach, Ayo led the UST Growling Tigers to the UAAP Season 82 Men's Basketball Finals by winning against the FEU Tamaraws and UP Fighting Maroons in the stepladder semifinals before meeting the Ateneo Blue Eagles. The Growling Tigers eventually lost in two games to the Blue Eagles, who completed a 16-game winning streak and won their third straight UAAP Men's Basketball Championship title under head coach Tab Baldwin. ^{[17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]}

On September 4, 2020, Ayo resigned as Growling Tigers head coach due to him holding practices with the team in Sorsogon amidst the COVID-19 pandemic which violates the quarantine protocols set by the Philippine government. The resulting controversy led to the departure of some of the players from UST namely CJ Cansino, Rhenz Abando, Brent Paraiso, Ira Bataller, and Jun Asuncion. ^[25] As a result of this, the UAAP imposed an indefinite ban on Ayo which prevents him from taking any future role within the collegiate league. ^[26]

Muntinlupa Cagers

In September 2018, the management of the Muntinlupa Cagers announced that they will tap Coach Ayo as their new head coach during the 2018 MPBL Datu Cup.

Chooks-to-Go 3x3

Aldin Ayo was appointed as head coach of the Chooks-to-Go's 3x3 program in November 2020 succeeding Eric Altamirano. ^[27] Under his watch, Cebu Chooks won the 2020 FIBA 3x3 Asia Pacific Super Quest, the first Philippine team to win a FIBA 3x3 Men's Pro Circuit title. ^[28] In August 2022, he resigned as head coach of Chooks-to-Go's 3x3 program to tend to his mother who has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. ^[29] Chico Lanete replaced him as interim head coach. ^[27]

Bicol Volcanoes

November 2021 marks the return of Ayo in the MPBL, with his appointment as head coach of the Bicol Volcanoes. ^[30] The team would play in the 2021 MPBL Invitational under Ayo. However the team would not feature in the 2022–23 MPBL Mumbaki season.

Coaching record

Collegiate record

Season	Team	Eliminations				Playoffs
		W	L	PCT	Finish	PG	W	L	PCT	Results
Letran Knights (NCAA)
2015	Letran	13	5	.722	1st	5	3	2	.600	Champions
De La Salle Green Archers (UAAP)
2016	La Salle	13	1	.929	1st	3	3	0	1.000	Champions
2017	La Salle	12	2	.857	2nd	4	2	2	.500	Finals
UST Growling Tigers (UAAP)
2018	UST	5	9	.357	6th	—	—	—	—	Eliminated
2019	UST	8	6	.571	4th	5	3	2	.600	Finals
Totals		51	23	.689		17	11	6	.647	2 championships

Political career

As a politician, Ayo has served as city councilor of Sorsogon City for two terms since 2010. ^[31] He was supposed to run for his third term of office in the upcoming 2016 elections, however he backed out due to personal and family reasons. ^[32] He later had a change of heart and still ran for councilor, which he won in 2016 elections. ^[33]

He headed several committees on Trade, Commerce and Industry as well as Agriculture and Food. ^{[34] [35]} He is affiliated with the Nationalist People's Coalition. ^[36]

References

1. "Our Lady of Peñafrancia Seminary: July 2009" . Retrieved October 30, 2015.
2. Leongson, Randolph. "Who is Aldin Ayo? New Letran coach speaks up (December 6, 2014)". rivals.ph. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
3. "Colegio de San Juan de Letran - Letran News (July-August 2001)" . Retrieved October 30, 2015.
4. Terrado, Reuben. "Aldin Ayo won an NCAA championship for Letran as a player. Can he win one as a coach?". SPIN.ph. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
5. Tupas, Cedelf. "Ayo: Letran's Knight in shining armor". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
6. "AEMILIANUM KNIGHTS 2009" . Retrieved October 30, 2015.
7. Jacinto, Christian. "Ayo's system of trust puts Letran back on top". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
8. "JR. NBA – ALASKA OPENS DOORS FOR TOMORROW'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS".^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. Avinante, Aldo. "NBA Philippines, Alaska host send-off party for Jr. NBA delegates". NBA.com Philippines. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
10. Villar, Joel. "Aldin Ayo gains respect for perfect start". Philippine Star. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
11. "How did Aldin Ayo get the Letran coaching job? Source bares selection process". rivals.ph. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
12. Terrado, Reuben. "Letran Knights win Game Three in overtime, end San Beda dynasty in NCAA". SPIN.ph. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
13. Terrado, Reuben. "Aldin Ayo denies P9M deal with La Salle, reveals real reason behind switch". SPIN.ph. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
14. "Champions Ayo, Racela share top coaching honor". ABS-CBN Sports. December 28, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
15. "It's official: Aldin Ayo says move from Letran to La Salle has nothing to do with money or politics". Spin.ph. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
16. Ganglani, Naveen (December 16, 2015). "It's official: Aldin Ayo is new DLSU Green Archers coach". Rappler. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
17. "UST knocks off FEU, moves on to face UP in stepladder semis | Inquirer Sports".
18. "UP Fighting Maroons, UST Growling Tigers face off for spot in UAAP Finals".
19. "UST Tigers beat UP Maroons, force do-or-die match for place in finals".
20. "Renzo Subido clutch trey boots out UP, books UST ticket to UAAP 82 Finals".
21. "Ateneo, UST battle for the crown in UAAP Season 82 men's basketball finals │ GMA News Online".
22. "Ateneo Blue Eagles hold off UST Tigers, win title via 16-0 sweep".
23. "Ateneo makes UAAP history, sweeps UST for 3rd straight title | Inquirer Sports".
24. "UAAP 82 Finals: Ateneo finishes off UST, finishes job on perfect season | ABS-CBN Sports". Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
25. "Aldin Ayo steps down as UST head coach; school accepts resignation". ESPN.com. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
26. Naredo, Camille (September 9, 2020). "Aldin Ayo banned indefinitely from the UAAP". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
27. From the wires (August 5, 2022). "Chico Lanete named interim Chooks 3x3 coach as Aldin Ayo resigns". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
28. "Cebu Chooks win FIBA 3x3 Asia Pacific Super Quest". ABS-CBN News. May 1, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
29. "Aldin Ayo resigns as Chooks 3x3 head trainer, tends to ailing mother". Rappler. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
30. Leongson, Randolph (November 10, 2021). "Aldin Ayo returns to MPBL, to coach Bicol Volcanoes". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
31. "COMELEC proclaims new Sorsogon City leaders".
32. Terrado, Reuben. "Aldin Ayo denies P9M deal with La Salle, reveals real reason behind switch". SPIN.ph. SPIN.ph. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
33. Icasiano, Nissi. "Basketball coaches Pumaren, Ayo win city council seats". Rappler. Rappler.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
34. "Aldin V. Ayo - SORSOGON CITY" . Retrieved October 29, 2015.
35. Terrado, Reuben. "Aldin Ayo seeking third term as councilor in Sorsogon City as he continues to coach Letran Knights in NCAA". SPIN.ph. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
36. "SORSOGON CITY - SORSOGON ELECTION RESULTS" . Retrieved May 11, 2016.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Caloy Garcia	Letran Knights men's basketball head coach 2015	Succeeded by Jeff Napa
Preceded by Juno Sauler	De La Salle Green Archers men's basketball head coach 2016–2017	Succeeded by Louie Gonzales
Preceded by Rodil Sablan	UST Growling Tigers men's basketball head coach 2018–2020	Succeeded by Jino Manansala