Nathan "Biggs" Macadangdang spent his penultimate night on Earth doing what he had loved so much: supporting Hawai'i high school basketball.

Macadangdang, a longtime former girls basketball coach at Campbell, died in his sleep from heart failure Jan. 15 at home in Mililani.

He had turned 46 exactly one week before.

On Jan. 14, Macadangdang and wife, Patty, had attended the Pearl City at Waialua boys basketball game to support Pearl City player Mitchell "Kama" Resurrection, whose father, Ray, was Macadangdang's assistant at Campbell.

Ray Resurrection, an Army Reservist, had been deployed to Kuwait.

"Ray is close to our family, and (Kama) is like a nephew to us," Patty Macadangdang said.

Macadangdang, who stepped down from coaching last spring after a worsening heart condition, was not feeling well earlier in the week of Jan. 14 but insisted on attending the Pearl City game to support Resurrection since his dad was not in town.

But supporting local basketball was a lifelong passion for Macadangdang, a former center at Waialua. He became a varsity assistant coach immediately after graduating.

When Patty Macadangdang became Campbell's varsity girls coach in 1994, she hired her husband/high school sweetheart as an assistant.

"But really," Patty said, "it was more like he was the head coach and I was the assistant."

Macadangdang officially became Campbell's head coach in 1999 and guided the Sabers through last season, in which they captured the Division II state championship.

"I was happy for him," said Kalaheo boys coach Chico Furtado, who had been Kalaheo's girls coach for 10 seasons. "He was a good man. They played in our summer league, and I remember he even paid the entry fee with his own money."

Patty Macadangdang said that was just one example of her husband's dedication toward the Campbell program.

"He was so passionate about basketball, if there was a tournament, he'd say, 'We gotta get the girls in,' " Patty said. "He did whatever he could for the girls."

Macadangdang was diagnosed with cardiomyapathy, a defect resulting from a virus that attacked his heart 20 years ago. He was advised to get a heart transplant, but "we never got to that point," Patty said.

Though his condition worsened in recent months, Macadangdang still managed to attend several high school and Hawai'i Pacific University games this season.

Other survivors include sons Jordan and Brandon, future daughter-in-law Jenny Sweeney, parents Emilio and Juliana, brothers Douglas Acol and Jeffrey Macadangdang, sisters Sandra Hamora, Shirley Del Rosario, Valerie Camacho, Darlene Macadangdang and Debbie Macadangdang.

A memorial service has been scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Waialua Stake, with visitation starting at 6 p.m.

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.