For American reinforcement Wayne Chism, playing against coach Yeng Guiao – his mentor in the previous three stints he had in the PBA – for the first time brought him some sense of enjoyment rather than pressure.
The 6-foot-9 forward faced Guiao – his former coach in the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and in the NLEX Road Warriors – Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, as he and the Magnolia Hotshots took on the Road Warriors.
Chism even got one over Guiao, 116-89, and played a huge role in the Hotshots’ victory as he filled up the stat sheet with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals in the 38 minutes he saw action.
“It’s always feelings with Coach,” said Chism moments after the match. “We’ve been together for a while and this is the first time I’m playing against him and against his team.
“It was very tough to start off, ’cause I know Coach know me and what my tendencies are, so I had to adjust real quick.
“Other than that, I’m very happy I played against him just to see how it is on the other side. It was fun, I really enjoyed it,” added the 31-year-old.
Aside from playing against his former coach, Chism also relished playing against his former teammates on the Road Warriors side – his last tour of duty in the PBA was in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup with NLEX.
“It was… it shows a lot that you love this game. Everybody misses each other, I missed ’em too, but playing against ’em, being on the opposite side, it was very challenging ’cause I wanted to pass ’em the ball, but I couldn’t,” he quipped.
“Other than that, it was very good to be out there with them and share the game with them again.”
Still, basketball is a business, and Chism is determined in his duty with the Hotshots, who are hoping to get into the quarterfinals – they are just a win away following Wednesday night’s huge victory.
“I’m here to help the team win and build confidence with the team and help them get their confidence back. I can’t downtalk the other imports because they did a good job while they were here,” said Chism, Magnolia’s fourth import this conference. “I’m here to help the guys, not to take over anything from them or take anything from ’em, just like today’s game, the game was very very fast, everybody was moving the ball, everybody was touching and scoring the ball.
“So, that shows the team is getting back the chemistry that they used to have.”
