Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao finds no comparison to Adrian Nocum when asked if the highflying guard resembles a former player of his.
For the champion mentor, the Mapua product is one of one and it’s easily a major compliment given the fact that he’s handled countless stars in the past.
“Nagiisa lang ‘to. Unique siya,” he said.
Guiao said as much Friday night after Nocum starred in their 114-104 win over Converge in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
There, the slashing combo guard dazzled on his way to 28 points to help lead the Elasto Painters in pushing the best-of-3 series to a decider.
He scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter and some of his shots came from highlight-worthy plays that wowed the Ninoy Aquino Stadium crowd.
That included a beautiful ‘Pinoy step’ to evade the defense of a much bigger Cheick Diallo at the 7:09-mark of the period to push their lead to 97-87.
Nocum went on to finish with an impressive 11-of-17 clip from the floor and also collected four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Asked about his spectacular moves, even the 25-year-old couldn’t help but be in awe with how he pulls off those, that it comes naturally within the game.
“‘Di ko rin alam ba’t nagagawa ko ‘yung mga ganun.” said Nocum, who earned Player of the Game honors, smiling. “Nilalaro ko lang.”
For Guiao, although he doesn’t find anyone to compare to his prized ward, he’s known from the start how talented the Tondo native is.
“Actually, nung una pa lang na pagpasok niya sa team. sinabihan ko na siya na meron kang talent: slashing sa basket. May bilis ka,” he said.
Still, he wants Nocum to add more to his game, particularly in becoming more consistent with his outside shot to keep defenses guessing.
“Pero inconsistent ‘yung outside shot mo,” said the straightforward coach.
He showed promise on Friday, though, going 4-of-6 from the first arc to account for a quarter of Rain or Shine’s 12 threes to shoot its way to the crucial W.
“Pag na-develop niya ‘yung outside shot, sabi ko baka mag-MVP ka. So, baka ina-ambisyon niya,” said Guiao, ever humorous, with a smile.
“Binobola ko lang siya nun, naniwala eh,” the 65-year-old bench tactician added, drawing laughter from those inside the press room.
