CHICO Manabat has come on board as a deputy coach as Converge shored up its coaching staff in a sweeping revamp ahead of the PBA Philippine Cup following the departure of Charles Tiu.

The concurrent coach of the Arellano Chiefs in the NCAA has signed with the FiberXers along with Manny Dandan, who is also part of the Arellano program as consultant and Manabat’s staff as the Chiefs’ defensive coach.

Manabat and Dandan will now assist Converge head coach Franco Atienza in a shift aligned to the direction the PBA franchise has taken amid rumors of a looming takeover by Dennis 'Delta' Pineda of the top coaching job.

Interestingly, also gone from the FiberXers support staff aside from concurrent College of St. Benilde coach Tiu are strength and conditioning coahes Gelo Vito and Nico Francisco and head of analytics Paulo Maligalig.

All four are believed to be hires of the Laos, although Tiu has a strong relationship with Pineda and Converge owner Dennis Uy.

Converge confirmed Tiu's departure five days after it was reported by SPIN.ph.

Meanwhile, Manabat and Dandan have ties to Pineda's brother-in-law and current Converge governor Archen Cayabyab, who played for the National University Bulldogs during his college basketball career.

Manabat was a Cayabyab teammate at NU but was left undrafted in the PBA in 2007. Dandan coached the Bulldogs in 2001.

The 46-year-old Manabat led Centro Escolar University to the UCBL title in 2023 before moving to Arellano the following year. Manabat previously held coaching positions at National University-Nazareth School and Grace Christian College.

Dandan also had stints as NU seniors coach during the 2000s prior to the school’s purchase by the SM Group in 2008.

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