Leo Balayon III

Leopoldo Balayon III is a Filipino college basketball coach in the United States.[1] He currently serves as the head men's basketball coach and director of athletics and recreation at Stanton University in Garden Grove, California.[2][3] He previously served in the same capacity at Bethesda University in Anaheim, CA.[4] Balayon is the first individual, born and raised, in the Philippines to become a college head men's basketball coach in the United States.[5][6][7] Balayon is also the only head men's basketball coach in college basketball history to lead a non-NCAA/NAIA program to two upset victories against an NCAA Division 1 opponent.[8][9]

Career

In 2009, Balayon became an assistant coach for the defunct Pacifica College of Moreno Valley, California.[10] After two seasons at Pacifica, Balayon moved on to become an assistant coach with Caltech, a Division 3 program in Pasadena, California.[11][10][12] Balayon also briefly served as an assistant coach for the Afghanistan men's basketball national team.[13]In 2013, Balayon joined Bethesda University's athletic program and served as associate head coach for both the men and women's basketball teams. He was eventually promoted to head men's basketball coach in 2015.[14][15]

While at Bethesda University, Balayon became the only head coach in college basketball history to lead a non-NCAA/NAIA program to a victory against an NCAA Division 1 opponent twice.[6][16][17] Both historic upsets came at the expense of Cal State Northridge of the Big West Conference.[8][9][18][19]

References
  1. "Japeth's US trainer is a Pinoy from Davao". Yahoo! News.
  2. https://stanton.edu/administrators/
  3. "Sports". stantonelks.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  4. "Leo Balayon Promoted to Director of Athletics". July 7, 2016 – via bethesdaathletics.com. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. https://stantonelks.com/mens-basketball/
  6. "Tiny Bethesda University in Anaheim gives basketball players a second chance at playing". January 3, 2017.
  7. "Mike Magpayo becomes first NCAA Div. 1 head coach of Filipino descent". ESPN. July 3, 2020.
  8. "Bethesda University vs. Cal State Northridge - Game Recap - December 16, 2016". ESPN.
  9. "Bethesda University vs. Cal State Northridge - Game Summary - December 22, 2021". ESPN.
  10. "Leo Balayon".
  11. "Japeths Teammates Coaches Proud Gilas Win Over Lebron".
  12. "NBA D-League team keen on drafting Japeth Aguilar » Asian Players".
  13. https://stantonelks.com/sports/
  14. "Leo Balayon - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  15. "Mike Magpayo becomes first NCAA Div. 1 head coach of Filipino descent". ESPN. July 3, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  16. "Coach Balayon". scb-final.
  17. "Daily Dirt - 8/22/22". August 22, 2022.
  18. "Bethesda University vs. Cal State Northridge - Box Score - December 16, 2016". ESPN.
  19. "Bethesda University vs. Cal State Northridge - Box Score - December 22, 2021". ESPN.
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