It’s nothing out of the ordinary.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao isn’t dwelling on the past whatsoever as he will have to steer the team past his previous ball club NLEX for the right to clinch the no. 8 seed and finalize the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
The Elasto Painters found themselves figuring in a knockout after losing to 2-seed Magnolia on Friday, paving the way for their chief mentor to cross paths with the squad he manned in the last six years before the homecoming of sorts.
“You know, I don’t want to dwell on personal circumstances. It’s just another game,” he told reporters moments after the 106-90 defeat at the Philsports Arena in Pasig. “It’s just another chance for us to make the next round.
“I’m not trying to dwell on our past relationships, or my former players, my former coaching staff being there. Paghahandaan namin sila like any other team,” the outspoken bench tactician furthered.
What matters most for Guiao is helping Rain or Shine reach the quarters again, something that the squad hasn’t done since the 2021 Philippine Cup where it got swept by eventual finalist Magnolia in a best-of-three affair.
Even the seven-time champion himself has a personal drought. He has not made it past the Commissioner’s Cup eliminations since 2016, where he commandeered the Painters to the top by beating Alaska in six games.
He left for NLEX the next season.
“Ito kasing team na ‘to, matagal-tagal na hindi pa nakakapasok ng quarterfinals … If we make the next round that’s already going to be an improvement,” said Guiao. “Kami ‘yun lang gusto namin, we’re trying to validate our hard work.
“And by winning on Sunday, that gets validated.”
He did admit, though, that NLEX imposes a challenge on their aspirations. The Road Warriors are coming in with morale so high after nailing big wins over Barangay Ginebra and Meralco, respectively, to fan their hopes.
Guiao also acknowledged the tough task ahead in trying to limit Earl Clark, who has been NLEX’s best player in the tilt with impressive per-game averages of 31.9 points, 15.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 blocks.
“they’re getting their rhythm and getting used to a new system. So, it’s going to be a challenge,” said the 63-year-old. “Plus, ‘yung import nila, maayos naman eh. High-scoring import. Tingin ko, heavily reliant on his scoring.
“Pagka kasi medyo sumasama ‘yung laro nung import, sama sila e. Pagka gumaganda ‘yung laro nung import, maganda rin laro nila. So I think the key is really trying to manage or contain the scoring of the import.”
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