Aldin Ayo

Aldin Valladolid Ayo (born October 15, 1977) is a Filipino collegiate coach of the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP.

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.

Ayo played collegiate basketball at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran from 1998 to 2001. Teamed up with Kerby Raymundo and Chris Calaguio, he helped the Letran Knights win back-to-back NCAA titles in 1998 and 1999. 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. He finished his college education with a degree in Philosophy.

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. 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. 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.

Letran Knights

In 2014, Ayo was named the new head coach of his alma mater's varsity team, the Letran Knights, beating the likes of former college teammate Kerby Raymundo and PBA legend and fellow Letran alumnus Samboy Lim. 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. 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.

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.

Collegiate record

As a politician, Ayo has served as city councilor of Sorsogon City for two terms since 2010. 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. He later had a change of heart and still ran for councilor, which he won in 2016 elections.

Currently, he heads several committees on Trade, Commerce & Industry as well as Agriculture & Food. He is affiliated with the Nationalist People's Coalition.