Pandora Wears the Coach’s Headset for SIBOL—and He Just Might Keep It On
There was always something about Pandora that didn’t quite fit into the mold.
He played the game with the fire of a frontline tank, but thought like an analyst. He was the sixth man you could sub in at any moment, yet he often sounded more like the guy calling the shots behind the screen.
Now, for the first time, Vincent “Pandora” Unigo is officially wearing the headset—and he’s thinking about keeping it on.
“Well, I think this role of being an analyst is not new to me, and ito na talaga yung label for me, an assistant coach,” he says. “I will do my best to help Coach Trebor, and at the same time, I will look at the game not just as a player. I will provide insights from the point of view of a player and a coach. Ako yung balance sa dalawang roles.”
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Pandora May Return to the MPL as a Coach in Season 16
Balance. It’s a word that’s followed him for years. He’s walked the line between starter and sub, brawler and brain, student and teacher. But stepping into SIBOL’s national coaching staff feels different.
This isn’t just a stopgap role—it’s a possible reintroduction.
ALL-STAR asked him if he would consider returning to the MPL not as a player but as a coach, considering he’s now SIBOL’s assistant coach for MLBB.
“Yes. Full disclosure, I’ve been coaching amateur teams before, so I really have that kind of experience,” Pandora says.
“You mentioned other picks and everything, yun yung mga gusto ko at marami din talaga akong naiisip. As assistant coach, pakiramdam ko mas mapapakinggan nila yung voice ko.”
There’s a subtle suggestion in the way he says it: that this could be a long-term play. That MPL Season 16 might be less about his return as a player—and more about his debut as a coach.
“Gagamitin ko itong experience ko para baka next step ko na ito.”
And why not? In the ecosystem of Mobile Legends, the coaching path is no longer the dusty endgame for retired veterans—it’s the tactical vanguard. Teams are built not just on reflexes, but on frameworks. And if there’s anything Pandora has, it’s the mind for both.
The shift from sixth man to assistant coach wasn’t just about title—it was about mental load.
“Kapag sixth man ka kasi, bukod sa pagiging analyst ng game, maglalaro ka pa rin at syempre, iho-hone mo yung skills mo para anytime na palaruin ka, ready ka,” he explains. “While as an assistant coach, hindi mo na kailangan mag-isip ng ganoon. Focus ka lang talaga sa pag analyze ng team at saan kami nagkukulang.”
“Sobrang malayo ang pagkakaiba nila pero sa tingin ko, kapag assistant coach ka, more focused ka lang talaga sa team.”
That singular focus is something he learned under the guidance of Coach Vren—another mind who carved his own name in the sidelines.
“Natututo talaga ako maging analyst and coach kay Coach Vren, our former coach,” he says. “Ako rin naman, noong amateur ako, vocal ako about my thought. Super opinionated ako. Marami akong ideas palagi.”
It’s that same sharpness, that sense of voice, that now gives him a seat at the table. With SIBOL, he’s not just another coach—he’s a translator between two worlds: the kinetic instincts of a player, and the structural logic of a strategist.
But the question remains: is this just a side arc in his story—or is the next chapter already writing itself?
If Season 15 was his last dance as a player, Season 16 could be his first battle as a coach.
And if there’s anything we know about Pandora, it’s that he never enters a game without thinking two steps ahead.
