Road Warriors no plans of slowing down despite surprising rise to No. 1

NLEX guard Kiefer Ravena. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Never in his wildest dreams did head coach Yeng Guiao think NLEX would find itself in first place late in the elimination round of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup.

But that doesn’t mean the Road Warriors will be taking it easy the rest of the way. As far as they’re concerned, the team is just getting started.

“We’re right in a position where we want to be but we never dreamed that we’ll be number one at this point of the conference,” Guiao told reporters after steering NLEX to a 111-91 whipping of Rain or Shine on Wednesday.

The Road Warriors rolled to their fourth straight win to tie the TNT KaTropa at the helm with a 7-1 record.

The margin of error, though, remains slim and Guiao said his squad can’t afford to let complacency creep in.

“We know that even the slightest of mistakes will pull us down. I hope we can hold on to this for as long as we can. It’s important for us to be in the top four for us to get twice-to-beat advantage—that’s the purpose. We never dreamed of number 1 but if it’s there we’ll take it,” he said.

The Road Warriors go on a 12-day break but don’t expect them to be on vacation mode.

“We still have to be on our toes, it’s a break but it’s not a vacation. It’s a time for us to recover and be on our toes, it’s just gonna be harder and harder for us because once you’re on top everyone is going after you,” chief playmaker Kiefer Ravena said after collecting 12 points and six assists.

“We have to stay healthy. We don’t want this to be our peak. We can’t be complacent. Our goal is to make the finals and win the championship. We can’t be contented with the quarterfinals.”