New Phoenix coach wants to stay at Benilde

Charles Tiu will be making his Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) head coaching debut after getting tapped to handle Phoenix in the coming Commissioner’s Cup.

But there’s a small problem: He also wants to stay at College of Saint Benilde for Season 102 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

In a message to DAILY TRIBUNE on Tuesday, the 37-year-old Tiu stressed that he still wants to remain with the Blazers despite being appointed as the new head coach of the Fuel Masters in the coming import-flavored conference.

The youthful guru admitted that he doesn’t know how the arrangement is going to work out since the PBA doesn’t allow its head coaches to moonlight as mentor in the collegiate ranks.

“I still intend to be with Saint Benilde,” said Tiu, who has yet to win a title with the Blazers since assuming the role in Season 97 in 2002.

“Saint Benilde is my program, my team. I still intend to run the show.”

Sideliners believe that Tiu, the Blazers and the Fuel Masters can strike a win-win solution to settle the matter. One of the arrangements they’re looking at is for Tiu to coach the Fuel Masters while serving as active consultant of the Blazers with his good friend TY Tang emerging as the leading candidate to man the bench.

After all, Tang used to be the head coach of the Blazers before Tiu took over four seasons ago.

Tiu stressed that he is not worried about titles as the most important thing for him right now is to honor his commitment of leading the Blazers to their first ever NCAA title in 26 years.

“I’m not sure how the titles will work come season time, but we will figure it out. Benilde is my team and I will stick it out with them,” said Tiu, one of the country’s most brilliant young coaches who is no stranger to calling the shots in the PBA after serving as assistant coach at Meralco and Converge in the past.

He also coached professional club Strong Group Athletics in international events like the Jones Cup and the Dubai Basketball Invitationals.

In the PBA, Tiu is expected to be the youngest mentor.

He will handle a Fuel Masters squad that is coming off a forgettable campaign in the Philippine Cup with 3-8 win-loss record under Wilson with Jamike Jarin serving as consultant.

The future, however, looks bright for Phoenix as young stars like Kai Ballungay, Sean Manganti, Evan Nelle, Francis Escandor, and Ricci Rivero are in the roster together with rookie Will Gozum, whom Tiu handled at Saint Benilde in Season 99.

Veterans RJ Jazul and RR Garcia are also still around to provide stability and leadership to the Fuel Masters, who are still searching for their first title since joining the PBA in 2011.

“The PBA is still the highest level in the country, and it’s truly an honor to be part of it,” Tiu added.