Charles Tiu has accepted the vacant head coaching position at Phoenix, the team announced Tuesday, following his appointment on Monday evening.
The move has been a long time coming for the 37-year-old Tiu, who has spent the last 15 years as an assistant coach in the PBA and with various elite basketball programs.
“I’m just a simple guy from Xavier School, and now I get another chance to compete against the best coaches in the country and to coach some of the best players as well. That makes this opportunity truly exciting,” Tiu told Tiebreaker Times, as he becomes the first Xaverian to serve as a head coach in the PBA.
Tiu began his coaching journey as a deputy to Rajko Toroman with Gilas Pilipinas Men from 2009 to 2011. He then served as an assistant coach under Bo Perasol at Powerade in 2011, before later reuniting with Toroman as his lead deputy at Barako Bull from 2011 to 2013.
In 2018, he steered Go For Gold to the PBA D-League Foundation Cup title.
Beyond the PBA, Tiu has built an impressive international and developmental résumé.
He handled the Dubai International Basketball Championship and William Jones Cup teams of Mighty Sports and Strong Group Athletics, guiding Mighty Sports to the 2019 William Jones Cup title and the 2020 Dubai International Basketball Championship.
He later led Strong Group Athletics to back-to-back William Jones Cup championships in 2024 and 2025.
Tiu returned to the PBA in 2021 as an assistant coach under Norman Black at Meralco, and later became the lead deputy at Converge in 2024.
“I’m happy to have the opportunity to coach in the PBA again. I never expected or imagined that I would be here at all—this was totally unplanned. I actually had quite a few vacation trips scheduled this year, which I guess we’ll have to cancel for now,” he quipped.
Tiu takes over from Willy Wilson, whose contract was not renewed after just one conference that saw the Fuel Masters finish with a 3–8 record.
The concurrent Benilde head coach will be joined on the Phoenix bench by TY Tang and Paolo Layug, alongside holdovers Paolo Dizon and Jon Jacinto.
“To be honest, the first goal is to make the playoffs. I think the team hasn’t reached the playoffs in the last five conferences, so we’ll try to break that streak,” said Tiu.
Grateful for the trust placed in him, Tiu acknowledged the people who have supported him throughout his career.
“I’m just thankful to Boss Dennis Uy and Boss RTZ (Atty. Raymond Zorilla) for the trust, and of course to the people in my life who have guided me and taken a chance on me—the Benilde community; Boss Frank Lao of SGA; Boss Dennis Uy and Gov. Delta (Pineda) from Converge; Coach Norman Black; Caesar Wongchuking of Mighty Sports; Boss JB Baylon of Powerade; and Coach Rajko, who gave me my first break,” he expressed.
“I never thought I would be in Philippine basketball for this long, and I’m just enjoying the experience while it lasts.”
