You have to look back in order to move forward
When the NLEX Road Warriors launched its new shield for the upcoming 43rd season of the PBA, incoming second-year NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao made sure to look back at the history of the four year old franchise.
Prior to the success the team experienced during the 2017 Governors’ Cup, NLEX entered into numerous talks and executed a handful of transactions to build the roster that they have today. But the current iteration of the team could not have been made possible without the vision of the team’s first-ever head coach in Boyet Fernandez.
“I would like to pay tribute to all of our former players and ang dati nating coach na si Coach Boyet Fernandez,” Guiao shared Monday afternoon in an event held at the NLEX headquarters in Caloocan.
“Kung hindi po sa kanila, if they did not lay down that foundation, e baka po one year na ngayon, hindi pa tayo ganito kalakas.”
During the calendar year, the Road Warriors were able to acquire the likes of Alex Mallari, Larry Fonacier, JR Quinahan, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, and Kenneth Ighalo that helped turn around the fortunes of the team that finished dead last in both the 2016-17 Philippine Cup and the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup. The losses the team incurred during the first two conferences also resulted to them being granted the second overall pick in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft that saw the Road Warriors pick Kiefer Ravena.
“We feel that we are a very competitive team right now because of the work that’s been done previously and we just tried to improve it,” the seven-time PBA champion coach added.
With the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation focusing all its resources on the Road Warriors, the pressure will be on for Guiao and his troops. And the veteran tactician vowed to make it all worth it come the new season.
“Makakaasa kayo na sa darating na conference, we will make the NLEX company and the MPTC group be proud of this team.”
