Gian Mamuyac couldn’t be any luckier that he and the Rain or Shine young guns are now under the tutelage of no less than Yeng Guiao.
“Kaming mga young guys, sobrang swerte namin this part of our career. Under Coach Yeng na kami,” said the rookie guard after the Elasto Painters’ 113-96 win over Meralco in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night.
“Ibang klase magbigay ng confidence si Coach Yeng sa lahat — hindi lang sa’ming young guys, pero sa buong team,” he added.
Mamuyac said as much after submitting a career-high 21 points in their mauling of the skidding Bolts, a performance that saw him shoot 7-of-13 from the field and collect three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 28 minutes.
The Ateneo alum has built a niche as a defensive-oriented cager since his college days, but the effort on offense has been noticeable in the pros.
In the mid-season conference alone, Saturday night was actually the third time he scored in double figures. Before a four-point outing against TNT the last time out, he fired 17 and 13 against Terrafirma and San Miguel, respectively.
All that, for Mamuyac, is thanks to the confidence being given by their decorated mentor, who inherited a team filled with youth when he returned to the ball club last September after six long years with NLEX.
“Sobrang swerte namin, lalo na kapag hindi namin tinira kasi mapapagalitan kami. So might as well, ‘di ba,” he said with a chuckle.
“Pero as a rookie or as a young player, ano pa ba hihingin mo? May confidence ka from your coaches, may confidence ka from your veterans. So sobrang swerte namin for this part of our career,” he added.
Guiao, on the other hand, had nothing but praises for Mamuyac and the other youngsters such as Mike Nieto, Anton Asistio, and Andrei Caracut, to name some, tipping his hat to the heart they all show every given night.
“I’m really impressed with our young guys. Malalaki ang puso, marunong lumaban. Pinakita naman nila ngayon ‘yan,” he said. “Nakita ko ‘yung mga bata, matapang lumaban, marunong lumaban.
“Tsaka I keep telling them magpakatalino sila — basketball is a smart man’s game. It’s not just the physical aspect. Nagre-respond naman sila. So as I’ve said, the upside that these guys have is really great.
“And, they’ve proved that,” Guiao furthered. “Even sina Anton [Asistio], sina Andrei [Caracut], they keep impressing me in practice. Natutuwa ako doon.”
Now it’s all about staying consistent moving forward for Mamuyac, who’s now averaging 8.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in the ongoing tilt.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
