Yeng Guiao: Early preparation.(insidesports.ph photo)
MANILA, Philippines—Even Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao is surprised with how good his team is playing.
Guiao expected that the Elasto Painters, still the only team assured of a semifinals slot, would do well in this conference but admitted, “Not as well as we’re doing now.”
ROS, which remained atop the heap with a stellar 6-1 mark, started the 2012 PBA Governors’ Cup unbeaten in four games and already that was the team’s best start in franchise history.
And Guiao credits his team’s readiness in a short and brutal conference format.
“We prepared early. We brought Jamelle (Cornley) here early so that he can already get acclimatized, get to know his teammates well and run our plays. And that’s the key to a format that we run now—early preparations and early wins. If you want to contend and have a chance to be in the finals, that’s the way to do it,” Guiao said.
The Elasto Painters also learned things the hard way with fair share of failures.
“We already made mistakes in the second conference where we lost early,” Guiao said in his post-game interview after his squad beat Barako Bull, 100-90, Sunday night.
Rain or Shine ran like a well-oiled machine in its beat-down of Barako Bull—leaning on its depth—led by the sweet-shooting lefty Jeff Chan.
Chan led the way with 19 points as not even one Elasto Painter played 30 minutes or more.