PBA: Grateful Kevin Alas says ‘my career blossomed’ under coach Yeng Guiao
NLEX coach Yeng Guiao. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Kevin Alas made sure to show gratitude to head coach Yeng Guiao.
Alas attributed his current stature—as one of the best guards in the league—to Guiao, who was his mentor from 2016 to 2022 with NLEX.
In a surprise move, NLEX and Guiao on Wednesday agreed to “mutually part ways.”
“My career blossomed under him. He patiently waited for me after 2 ACL injuries,” Alas said in a Facebook post.
Alas suffered a right knee injury in the 2018 Philippine Cup and then, re-injured it in the 2019 PBA season.
The following year, however, under the guidance of Guiao, Alas surged in a big way to gain his career-best in points, tallying 16.2 points per game in the 2020 season.
He also recorded his best season rebounding-wise with 6.3 an outing.
Alas also described playing for the multi-titled mentor as a “blessing.”
“Indeed a blessing that I got to play under Coach Yeng A great coach, but a better person off the court,” Alas wrote. “The Guiaos treated me and Selina as family. That’s why I will always be grateful to Coach Yeng! Will miss you Coach!”
