The Phoenix Fuel Masters will kick off the PBA’s golden season under new leadership, with Willy Wilson taking over the head coaching reins and Jamike Jarin sliding down as team consultant.
The Phoenix Fuel Masters are entering the PBA’s golden season under new leadership.
The team announced the appointment of Willy Wilson as their new head coach on Friday, August 15.
Wilson takes over the reins from Jamike Jarin, who will slide to a team consultant role.
“Management believes that coach Willy will be a good fit for the team as it pursues more success in Season 50,” Phoenix wrote in a post.
A 14-year PBA veteran, Wilson was the 15th pick in the 2004 draft and played for five teams. His lone championship came in the 2008 PBA Fiesta Conference, when Barangay Ginebra Kings defeated the then-Air 21 Express in seven games.
Wilson is no stranger to Phoenix, having played for the team from 2016 to 2018 before joining the Fuel Masters' coaching staff as an assistant in 2020.
The four-time UAAP champion with DLSU inherits a squad that failed to sustain its surprising semifinal run in the 2024 Commissioners’ Cup and has missed the playoffs in four consecutive conferences, finishing Season 49 with an 8-25 record.