Koy Banal sees Denok Miranda in rising star John Pinto

Koy Banal

MANILA, Philippines—Arellano coach Koy Banal was asked whether his point guard John Pinto reminds him of his former player back when he was coaching Far Eastern University in the UAAP.

And before the question was even finished, Banal answered “Denok Miranda.”

“The leadership and the court savvy, I can compare John Pinto to Denok Miranda,” said Banal, who invites his former players like Miranda to give pointers during Chiefs practices.

“Nakakahiya naman kay Denok. Unang-una idol ko si Denok. Nung nag-ensayo siya doon sabi niya h’wag mong hanapin yung score mo. ‘Anong gusto mo, madami kang points pero talo ang team o yung madami kang assists pero panalo?’ (It’s an embarrassing turn with Denok. First and foremost, Denok is my idol. When he was warming up, he said don’t try to score points as many as you want. ‘What do you want, you have a lot of points but your team lose the game or you have many assists but your team wins?’),” Pinto recalled.

In Arellano’s 67-66 win over defending NCAA champion San Beda Wednesday, Pinto had his fingerprints all over it with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.

“He’s our go-to guy, he is our spiritual leader,” said Banal. “But I always remind the team that we cannot rely with just one player. The system we’re running here in Arellano involves all the players so hindi lang John Pinto, James Forrester and Prince Caperal.”

The 22-year-old sophomore Pinto, who like Miranda has a stocky built for a point guard and has a knack for getting to the basket, also knows that despite his scoring abilities, it’s important to also get his teammates involved.

“Priority ko ‘yung teammates ko. Ako na kasi tinitignan ng mga teams ngayon (My priority are my teammates. My teammates look up to me now),” he said.