Yeng Guiao during his stint as Rain or Shine’s head coach. Photo by Tristan Tamato/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Rain or Shine is not closing its doors to a possible reunion with the coach that steered the franchise to two championships in the PBA.
“Anything is possible,” Raymond Yu, half of the club’s ownership, told the Inquirer on Friday night, on the heels of the sudden exit of Yeng Guiao from NLEX, where he is the head coach and the chief of basketball operations.
It remains murky as to why Guiao parted ways with the club he has handled for the last six years. The ElastoPainters, on the other hand, quickly cropped up as destination for the tough-talking mentor.
Guiao led Rain or Shine to two titles: First to the 2012 Governors’ Cup, where the top-ranked ElastoPainters disposed of the B-Meg Llamados in seven grueling games. And then in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup, where he commandeered the blue-collar squad past the Alaska Aces in six matches.
Rain or Shine has since been coached by Caloy Garcia, and recently Chris Gavina. But both coaches have yet to match Guiao’s feat.
The farthest the ElastoPainters have reached since Guiao’s exit in 2016 was the Final Four. The club did it thrice under Garcia.
Yu did not provide anything definitive when asked about talks between Guiao and the Rain or Shine management.
The amiable executive, who is currently out of the country made one point clear, though.
“Would love to have him back,” he said.