Fernandez, 49, will be making his debut in the national team as an assistant coach and will work together with Tab Baldwin and Jong Uichico.

He is the current head coach for San Beda Red Lions and has won four championships under his command.

The decorated mentor was also at the helm of the NLEX dynasty in the PBA D-League when they won six titles, including a four-straight win.

With Calvin Oftana and Kemark Cariño on the 16-man Gilas pool, Fernandez will not be having a hard time adjusting to his new turf.

On the other hand, Uichico will be adding force to the Gilas Pilipinas think tank.

The 62-year-old was part of the TNT Tropang Giga as a coach since 2016. However, he was not part of the coaching staff that entered the PBA bubble in Clark.

Uichico is no stranger to the national team for he has been the head coach of the team during the 2002 Asian Games and 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

Completing the staff will be Sandro Soriano and Andrei Tolentino.

The 16-man Gilas pool is currently at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna for their training camp.

Gilas Pilipinas is set to take on Thailand on November 26, Korea on November 28, and Thailand again on November 30 in the planned bubble at Manama, Bahrain for the second window of the FIBA ACQ.