Getting the head coaching job at Far Eastern University, Denok Miranda didn’t have to make many adjustments.
He credited his playing years as a point guard for the Tamaraws in college and his 12-year PBA career, which made his transition from assistant coach to chief tactician seamless.
“Malaking tulong sa akin kasi nung player ako, ako yung second coach eh,” said Miranda on Wednesday at the UAAP Season 86 collegiate basketball press conference.
“Lalo na nung time namin ni Coach Koy Banal sa FEU, mostly ako na yung tumatawag ng play saka dumidiskarte nung tatawag namin sa depensa eh.”
Miranda was the Tamaraws’ playmaker during their 2003 and 2004 championship runs. He was also named to the Mythical Five in both seasons.
The player-turned-coach was then drafted third overall in the 2005 PBA Draft by the Coca Cola Tigers, which marked the start of his long career in Asia’s first play-for-pay league. He won two championships in the PBA, one with Sta. Lucia and one with Petron.
Those experiences of being the coach inside the game are something Miranda wants to instill in his players at FEU in Season 86.
“Yung experience ko, ako yung dumidiskarte nung time ko sa PBA so ngayon, gusto kong ipasok sa mga players ko na kailangan nila dumiskarte sa loob ng game kasi iba yung naglalaro ka, iba yung nandoon ka sa sideline na tinuturo mo lang,” said the rookie head coach, who will be facing the likes of Tab Baldwin, Topex Robinson, Goldwin Monteverde, Jeff Napa, Nash Racela, et al in an almost daily basis for the next two months.
Miranda, an assistant coach from 2019 to 2022, was appointed as the team’s head coach after Olsen Racela stepped down in December 2022.
The Tamaraws’ nine-season streak of reaching the Final Four was snapped in Season 85 after a 5-9 record. Miranda and FEU will open their campaign on Sunday against De La Salle University at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
