MONTALBAN – Dennis 'Delta' Pineda admitted having butterflies in his stomach as he prepares for his PBA coaching debut with Converge.
“Actually, isang linggo na akong hindi nakakatulog. Kinakabahan ako,” said the rookie mentor of the FiberXers.
But that didn’t show as Converge was hardly threatened by Titan Ultra in a 129-92 runaway win in its opening game in the Philippine Cup Season 50 on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
Of course, coaching is nothing new for Pineda, who owns three championships in the NBL and back-to-back titles in the MPBL as mentor of Pampanga.
READ: Juan GDL gets triple-double in debut as Converge blows out Titan
Still, he did have some anxious moments before the game especially after not being able to practice with the team a week before Converge’s season debut.
“Nag-worry din ako kasi this week hindi ako naka-attend ng practice,” he disclosed. “Although naintidihan din nila because I need to do public service sa aking province. Naintidihan naman nila.”
It was such as sigh of relief for Pineda the FiberXers gave him a rousing gift right in his first game calling the shots from the bench.
“Masayang-masaya ako kasi God’s blessing,” he said. “First win, first game, malaking bagay sa akin yun, and malaking bagay sa mga players. We worked as a team, importanteng-importante yun.”
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