NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao expressed his displeasure with the officiating in the Road Warriors’ 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup clash with the Alaska Aces on Wednesday.
The fiery bench tactician went on an expletive-filled tirade towards the referees during the waning seconds of the match, and with everything all but settled in favor of the Milkmen.
“Thirty-nine free throws na ‘yung binigay sa kalaban eh. Tapos na ‘yung laro, wala namang foul, nagtatawag pa ng mga maninipis na foul,” Guiao said moments after their 90-106 defeat.
“There was no purpose, there was no foul, ang layo pa noong referee na tumawag.
“There’s no logic, walang logic, walang reason. Ewan ko. Hindi ko nga alam, kaya naglabas na ako ng sama ng loob ko rin, dahil hindi ko alam kung anong purpose noon, anong gusto nila,” he added.
But the damage had already been done. Still, despite the loss that dropped its card 8-3, NLEX are still the top seed heading into the quarterfinals, which start this Sunday.
Guiao, though, remains worried. The Road Warriors have lost their last two outings in the eliminations including Wednesday’s match, and that concerns the decorated mentor going into the next round.
“The last two games were our worst games. It’s kind of worrying to me kasi we should be peaking at this point, but pababa ‘yung laro namin. I think that’s a reason to worry,” Guiao said.
But the good thing, said Guiao, is that the quarters are still days away. That should be ample time for the Road Warriors to regroup and play again with that sense of urgency.
“But I think it’s a problem that can be fixed in practice,” said the third-year NLEX head think-tank.
“We have two or three days before we play again, so that sense of urgency, that mentality of just being relentless every game, should be restored, brought back to our team,” Guiao added.
“That’s my mission, the next [few] days. My job is to make them feel that urgency and translate that into sustained energy.”
