Former coach St. Benilde TY Tang and Chris Tiu, brother of current Blazers coach Charles Tiu, watch the NCAA Season 98 Men’s Basketball Finals at San Juan Arena. Benilde beat San Beda, 62-61, to qualify for his first final in 20 years. NCAA photo
MANILA, Philippines—St. Benilde got a big boost from the sidelines attended by former coach TY Tang on Tuesday as the Blazers qualified for their first NCAA final in 20 years.
Tang coached the Blazers for three seasons before he was replaced by Charles Tiu. Tiu, who is in his second season as Benilde’s mentor, still attributes part of the team’s current success to Tang.
“It was great to finally win to have him (Tang) watching because last time he said he was unlucky,” said Tiu, whose brother and former Gilas Pilipinas captain Chris Tiu also participated. attend, joke.
“But I told him when we started this together, we wanted to create something special. For me, he’s still an important part of this team even when he’s busy with other things,” he added.
Tiu served as Tang’s assistant when he called shots for the Blazers starting in 2016.
Tang, a Rain or Shine veteran in the PBA, left his post last year to let Tiu take the helm.
“I know his support is there, he always talks to the players and everything we do, we do together. It was the hard work he put in, he had planted the seeds before and it paid off,” Tiu explained.
Benilde star Migs Oczon said it was a pleasure to see Tang in the stands.
Oczon said Tang played a big role in his decision to join the Blazers.
“For me it was a big deal because both he and Charles convinced me to move to Benilde. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play under him but watching him watch was a great thing for us,” said Oczon.
Ozon wishes Benilde to be one 62-61 victory over San Beda in Final Four, get 17 points.
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