Boy’s Halloween beard nets dream basketball job

Max Philliban wore a thick beard to dress up as Caledonia Gladiators coach Gareth Murray

A 10-year-old basketball fan has been given the opportunity to coach his favourite team after dressing up as its head coach for Halloween.

Max Philliban, from Falkirk, dressed up for a Caledonia Gladiators game and was spotted in the crowd by players and head coach Gareth Murray.

Max wore the club's strip, got a coach's clipboard and wore fabric sleeve tattoos in tribute to Mr Murray's own tattoos.

Now, to thank Max for his support, the team has given him the chance to work with the players at an upcoming training session.

Max and his friend Jake with head coach Gareth Murray, who inspired the costume

Max said: "I'm so excited that I'm getting to train with the team, I can't believe it.

"I just thought it would be funny to dress as Gareth, but I'm happy it made him laugh when he saw me.

"The only bad bit was the beard kept getting stuck in my mouth."

Max's mum Linsey said: "When we told Max he'd get the chance to train with the team, his wee face lit up - he was over the moon.

"Max is a massive fan - we've gone to all the home games for the last three seasons."

Max and Jake with team captain Fahro Alihodzic

Max decided to dress up after the club asked fans to come in costume to their 29 October game against Leicester Riders.

Ms Philliban said they chose Mr Murray because Max enjoyed his team talks on the club's recent BBC documentary, Ballers: Ball Or Nothing.

"We loved how passionate Gareth was, and he's always been really great with Max when they've chatted at games," she said.

Max now plays for his local basketball club, Falkirk Fury - the same club where Gladiators players Jonny Bunyan and Fraser Malcolm began their careers.

'Good laugh'

Gladiators head coach Garath Murray said everyone at the club absolutely loved Max's costume.

"I think it gave some of the players a good laugh as well, and it was great to get a chance to chat to Max and his family after the game," he said.

"We'd love to have Max along to help us train for one of our upcoming matches - I was joking to some of the team that he certainly looks the part as a head coach."

The Caledonia Gladiators are the only pro-Basketball team in Scotland, and are currently in the process of arranging dates with Max's family to help him train with them.

"Gareth and all the team are really friendly, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them again," Max said.