For the first time, a school has swept a regular season series against a Tab Baldwin-coached Ateneo de Manila University. It was a feat not achieved by the likes of Aldin Ayo, Franz Pumaren, Goldwin Monteverde, or Nash Racela.
The first coach to ever do it was first-year Far Eastern University head coach Denok Miranda.
In the first round, the Tamaraws survived an overtime thriller against the defending champions, securing a 66-61 triumph. Eleven days later, L-Jay Gonzales sank a miraculous one-handed triple to prove that their first-round victory was no fluke, winning 62-59.
Though his name will be forever remembered for an unprecedented achievement, Miranda deflected all the credit to Gonzales and the Tamaraws.
He said, “Siyempre si Coach Tab is one of the best coaches in the UAAP. Grabe yung effort na ginawa ng mga players kasi kaming mga coaches naman ay gumawa kami ng magandang game plan at sila ang mga players na nag-execute.”
“Hats off sa mga players ko na talagang grabe yung effort ngayon at saka yung will to win na binigay nila sa laro na ito, at sana, sa mga susunod na mga laro namin, ganoon pa rin ang mentalidad.”
Familiarity with Baldwin also played a significant role in FEU serving as Ateneo’s foil this season. Besides facing each other in numerous summer leagues and preseason tune-ups, Miranda was also under Baldwin during their time in TNT from 2015 to 2016.
“Si Coach Tab naman maganda yung relationship namin nung time namin sa Talk ’N Text, naging player niya ako sa Talk ’N Text,” expressed Miranda.
Moreover, the Tamaraws also made one key acquisition during the off-season in Gabby Severino.
Severino was an Ateneo lifer, having been on the Blue Eagles staff for 21 years.
However, after the ‘bubble season,’ Severino left Ateneo, joining Charles Tiu’s staff at the College of Saint Benilde. A year later, he also took a job as deputy for FEU.
In both elimination round encounters, Severino can be seen as the one drawing up plays for the Tamaraws in the clutch.
“Nagpapasalamat din ako kay Coach Tab, ang dami ko ring natutunan sa kanya, at saka nagpaalam din ako sa kanya na ibu-blueprint ko rin yung system niya,” expressed Miranda, whose only head coaching experience prior to this season was being the head coach of the MPBL team Laguna-Krah Asia.
“Tsaka may kryptonite kami sa Ateneo, si Coach Gabby Severino, yun ang pinakamalaking tulong sa amin.”
Baldwin, however, offered nothing but praise for his former ward and now coaching rival.
During his playing years, Miranda exemplified a pitbull mentality—a mentality he has now passed on to his Tamaraws.
“Certainly, the one thing that we see in Denok’s team is toughness. I was thinking about that before the game, going back several years with Coach Nash (Racela) coaching FEU, and the one thing we can say about FEU is they are tough. Olsen (Racela) took over, and one thing you can say about FEU is they are tough,” said the decorated American-Kiwi head coach.
“Now, Denok is there, and we all remember him as a player, just a really tough guy as a player, and that same characteristic comes through in FEU. As he learns and develops tactical sensibility and experience, obviously, he knows how to motivate, he knows how to drive his players to give more of themselves than their talent might indicate, and that’s a great sign for a coach.
“It’s praiseworthy. I’m disappointed that I’m on the side that has to compliment him after another big win, but I acknowledge the fact that he’s doing a good job,” he concluded.
