As Yeng Guiao takes a break, coach Jojo Lastimosa tries to get NLEX out of funk

NLEX deputy coach Jojo Lastimosa. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao is taking a much-deserved break after a strenuous past few months.

Guiao will be absent from the Road Warriors for three games, starting from the 100-87 loss to Alaska, to go on a vacation with his family in Europe.

Assistant coach Jojo Lastimosa said Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena that it was Guiao’s family who organized the trip for their father after the elections and also the PBA games drained most of the fiery coach’s energy.

“Coach Yeng is in Europe, he’s on a cruise,” said Lastimosa. “It’s a treat from his family to get away from the game a little bit and to the things that happened to him in the last few weeks like the elections.”

Guiao, a former legislator, lost to re-electionist Carmelo Jon Lazatin in the congressional race for Pampanga’s first district representative in the 2019 midterm elections.

And while he was campaigning, Guiao was also busy with NLEX in the Philippine Cup where the Road Warriors missed out on the playoffs with a 4-7 record for the ninth seed.

“It’s just a good idea for the family and him to get away and forget about basketball for a while,” said Lastimosa.

As for the Road Warriors, Lastimosa said Guiao told him to get a perfect record in his absence but that already got a blot after NLEX fell to the Aces sending the club to a 0-3 hole.

“He told me that he’ll be gone for three days and that we should the 3-0 in that span, but we won’t be getting that target soon,” said Lastimosa, who also led the Road Warriors in the 2018 Governors’ Cup when Guiao was in Indonesia as Gilas Pilipinas’ coach in the Asian Games.

Lastimosa held the fort and led the Road Warriors to three wins in the four games that he was in charge.

“We still have our next two games, somehow we have to figure out a way how to keep the games close up until the end.”