Fritz Gaston
Filipino basketball player and coach
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Matthew "Fritz" Gaston is a Filipino former basketball player and coach.
Fritz Gaston | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office March 4, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissioner of the Games and Amusements Board | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 2011–2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basketball career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Filipino | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Ateneo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1979–1986 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Guard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 14, 20, 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 – 1980 | U/Tex Wranglers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | San Miguel Beermen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Crispa Redmanizers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Manila Beer Brewmasters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Great Taste Coffee Makers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Ateneo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Mobiline Cellulars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003, 2007 | Philippines (women) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As head coach:
As player
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Medals
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Career
Playing career
College
The basketball team of the Ateneo de Manila University had Gaston as a player. He was part of the Ateneo squad which won two consecutive titles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1975 and 1976.[1] He was part of the last NCAA Ateneo squad before the university left the collegiate league in 1978 to transfer to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).[2]
Club
Gaston also played in the Philippine Basketball Association from 1979 to 1986.[2] He played for multiple teams namely as the U/Tex Wranglers (1980), San Miguel Beermen (1983), Crispa Redmanizers (1984), Manila Beer Brewmasters (1985) and the Great Taste Coffee Makers (1986). With U/Tex he clinched the 1980 PBA All-Filipino Conference title.[1]
National team
He was also a player for the Philippine youth national team in 1977.[1]
Coaching career
Gaston became coach of his alma mater's basketball team. He led the Ateneo Blue Eagles to a UAAP title in Season 51 (1988).[3]
He served as an assistant coach under Norman Black for the Mobiline Cellulars for the 1997 PBA All-Filipino Cup and Commissioner's Cup.[4]
In 2003, Gaston became the head coach of the Philippines women's national basketball team.[5] He guided the team to a bronze medal finish at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand and a silver medal finish at the 2007 SEABA Championship for Women.[6]
Sports administration
Gaston was commissioner for the Games and Amusement Board, a government body which deals with professional sports in the Philippines, from 2011 to 2017.[5] He would be later appointed as a commissioner for the Philippine Sports Commission (that administers grassroots and amateur sports) on March 24, 2023 by President Bongbong Marcos.[7]
Personal life
Gaston has Silay, Negros Occidental as his hometown.[5][8] Gaston is married to Aurora Mandanas Gaston, a former beauty pageant contestant who won the 1984 Miss Asia Pacific.[9]
His daughter, Pauline is a professional volleyball player who has played in the Filipino Premier Volleyball League.[10][11] Therese, another daughter is a former collegiate volleyball player and a beauty pageant queen like her mother.[9][12]