Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. PBA IMAGES
Rain or Shine made a quarterfinal exit in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday night, a big feat for a squad that coach Yeng Guiao reunited with just a couple of months back.
Guiao admits never to having such far-flung dreams of winning a title this early, but he also couldn’t let go of the fact that his undersized Elasto Painters never had a chance against a “selection” of talent in Bay Area which is a team built for leagues far tougher than the PBA.
“This [Dragons] team was really designed for the (East Asia Super League) and the competition there,” he said. “That’s a higher level than just PBA.
“I guess we should’ve put more thought into it. I’m not opposed to having a guest team and experiencing new challenges, but we should not subject ourselves to being put in a disadvantageous position,” he went on.
Bay Area, aside from being loaded on all fronts, has the luxury of juggling two imports in case of injury to one. And this is one thing that Guiao says gives the Dragons all the edge they need.
A switch took place before the Painters’ match on Friday, when Guiao and his staff were informed that it would be 6-foot-10 center Andrew Nicholson playing instead of prolific point guard Myles Powell, who got injured in practice.
Not that Guiao feels they stood a good chance at beating the Dragons, but PBA teams are not afforded the luxury of having a back-up import.
“Actually, (last Thursday), we were notified (of the switch),” coach Yeng Guiao told reporters at the venue’s parking lot. “We usually hold our practices from 9 am to 12 noon. We were given the memo just before 12.”
“We were able to do a walkthrough for a couple of minutes, but we’ve already been preparing for Myles. And that’s one of the disadvantages I was pointing out.”