WHAT team will win the coach Yeng Guiao sweepstakes?
“If there is any other option there, there are other teams that might be interested, I will consider them. Titingnan mo lang talaga iyong opportunity,” Guiao said last Saturday on the Power and Play program hosted by former PBA commissioner and now Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Noli Eala. “Siguro ang unang-una riyan is, of course, kung sino iyong maunang lumapit at kung sino iyong unang mayroong magandang offer. You have to appreciate that.”
Guiao spoke after he and NLEX — a team he has coached the past six years —decided to “mutually part ways” in a stunning development last Friday.
The seven-time pro league champion tactician said he would have stayed with the Manny V. Pangilinan-owned ballclub, but the Road Warriors tendered a corporate offer, instead of a coaching offer. Guiao’s contract is set to expire on Sept. 30.
“Gusto ko pa mag-coach dito. Mahal ko itong team na ito. Kaya lang, hindi coaching job iyong inoffer nila. If they offered me a coaching job, I would still be here. I feel marami pa akong puwedeng i-contribute sa coaching. But the problem there was the opportunity they’re giving me, was to be a part of their corporate set-up,” Guiao said. “Napakaganda naman noong offer nila. Napakaganda. It was very tempting. Pinag-usapan namin ng family ko. But accepting that offer, it would mean parang lalayo ako sa coaching, ayoko pa naman.”
Understandably, armchair pundits point to Rain or Shine as the likely next destination for Guiao, having called the shots for the Elasto Painters from 2011 to 2016 where they won two titles in the 2012 and 2016 Commissioner’s Cups.
“Wala akong problema kay Rain or Shine. Galing ako diyan. They’re family to me,” Guiao said. “It’s still going to be their decision, kung gusto nila ako magbalik or hindi.”
NLEX finished with a 6-5 mark in the eliminations and reached the quarterfinals of the last import-less tourney where it fell to Magnolia.
With Guiao, 63, at the helm, the Road Warriors twice advanced to the semifinals during the 2018 all-Filipino meet and last year’s Governors’ Cup.
But Guiao’s stint with NLEX also saw the team ship prized center JP Erram to sister squad TNT two years ago and trade its fourth pick overall in last year’s draft also to the Tropang Giga, who used the selection to tab prolific Fil-Am Mikey Williams.
The Road Warriors also lost star guard Kiefer Ravena to Shiga in the Japan B. League.
Guiao was reportedly frustrated with the management’s decisions on those trades although he claimed he has no grudge against NLEX.
Teams that will promptly show interest and negotiate in signing up the former Pampanga vice governor and lawmaker will be appreciated, according to Guiao.
“You have to appreciate iyong makita nila iyong urgency na una silang nakipag-usap sayo, una sila to get in touch,” he said. “Of course, you have to give them that importance and priority.”
