What NLEX reached in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup despite missing its main man was more than enough to make head coach Yeng Guiao proud.
The Road Warriors no longer had Kiefer Ravena after their first four games of the season, as he flew to Japan. But the crew still fought through, and saw their efforts rewarded with a trip to the quarterfinals as the seventh seed.
They even came close to overcoming their twice-to-win disadvantage against the no. 2 team Meralco before losing steam in the end.
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“Losing Kiefer Ravena midway [through] the elimination round all the way to our playoffs campaign was tough. It’s something we didn’t prepare for,” head coach Yeng Guiao told Arangkada NLEX. “But I consider our campaign as decent.
“And we were able to push Meralco – which is considered one of the dark horse teams in the tournament, and has a legitimate chance of making it to the championship round or even winning the title – on the brink.
“And to me, that’s something we can also be proud of,” added the decorated mentor, who steered NLEX to its first semis trip in the 2018 all-Filipino tilt.
Not a few became curious as to how life without Ravena would be for the Road Warriors. And their recent campaign showed that they could fare well. And that’s thanks to those trying to keep the ship afloat the best they could.
Aside from his usual providers in JR Quiñahan, Kevin Alas, Jericho Cruz; shooter Philip Paniamogan; and the big men trio of Raul Soyud, Mike Miranda, and Kris Porter, Guiao also tipped his hat to newcomer Don Trollano.
Trollano reunited with his former mentor at Rain or Shine through an offseason trade involving TNT and Blackwater. And he proved his worth with per-game norms of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
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“We were able to get the contributions we needed,” said the fiery mentor, who’s been at the helm for the MVP Group-owned ball club since 2016.
Then, of course, there’s also Anthony Semerad and rookie Calvin Oftana – both of whom played key roles in their push approaching the playoffs.
Oftana erupted for a career-high 34 points in their last elimination round game versus the Bolts. Semerad then had the hot hand a week later against the same team with 23 points that pushed their quarters match-up to a sudden death.
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“Lately, we’ve seen breakout performances from Anthony Semerad, who has become more of a two-way player now, and our rookie Calvin Oftana.”
With all this, Guiao and NLEX are looking to build from it heading into the next conference in another campaign without Ravena.
“We’re hoping we can build up from this experience,” said the champion coach, who’s still looking for his first Philippine Cup title. “We’re going to lose Kiefer for the next conference, but at least we can prepare more for that, this time.”
