Denok Miranda named new FEU Tamaraws head coach, Johnny Abarrientos consultant

Denok Miranda is the new FEU Tamaraws head coach. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines — Denok Miranda has been named as the new Far Eastern University men’s basketball coach ahead of the UAAP Season 86 this year.

The school on Wednesday morning announced that Miranda has been promoted to head coach after serving as an assistant since 2018.

“Denok brings with him over 12 years of playing experience in the PBA and is a two-time UAAP champion.  He has also been a head coach in the MPBL and has been an assistant coach for the Tamaraws since 2018,” the school wrote. “Known as an elite defender and leader during his time, Coach Denok is expected to instill a defensive and winning mentality with the team.”

The 40-year-old coach replaced Olsen Racela, who called the shots for the past six years but stepped down after the Tamaraws missed the Final Four in Season 85 for the first time since 2012.

Miranda played for the Tamaraws and won two UAAP titles in 2003 and 2004 before he was drafted in the PBA in 2005 as the third overall pick by Coca-Cola.

The two-time PBA champion player, who also coached Binan City in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, is inheriting the young FEU core led by L-Jay Gonzales as they seek to bounce back from a seventh-place finish, winning only five of their 14 games last season.

Besides Miranda, the school also announced that longtime assistant coach Johnny Abarrientos would be the team consultant.

The 52-year-old Abarrientos, who won two UAAP titles and an MVP with FEU before emerging as one of the PBA greats, will continue to guide the Tamaraws in a different capacity.