THERE won’t be a rookie draft déjà vu for Yeng Guiao this time.
The Rain or Shine coach got the assurance from top management that the franchise is going to keep the Nos. 3 and 4 picks which it own in the coming PBA Season 48 draft slated for next month.
The guarantee was made by no less than team co-owners Raymund Yu and Terry Que to Guiao, who intends to further bolster the young core of the team by adding fresh talents from the incoming batch of rookies.
READ: Kouame teams up with Evans for ROS at Jones Cup
“Ang maganda rito, nung kinausap ko si Boss Raymund, sabi niya ‘yung No. 3 and 4 na draft picks, sa iyo yan. Kung ano ang gusto mong gawin diyan, puwede mong gawin,” said Guiao, recalling his conversation with the amiable team owner.
“Alam naman (nila) na ang intention ay palakasin naman ang team. Hindi natin yan pang-le-leverage ng kung anuman.”
The veteran coach of course, has had an unpleasant experience the last time a team he handled owned a pick as high as these two draft selections.
Back in 2021 as NLEX coach, Guiao also had in his hands the third and fourth picks, respectively for the Season 46 draft.
While the Road Warriors kept the No. 3 pick and used it to tap wingman Calvin Oftana, the team curiously dealt away the No. 4 selection in a three-team trade consummated just three days prior to the draft proceedings.
The precious pick ended up with TNT, a team which actually won’t be having its turn in the draft until the third round yet.
The Tropang Giga didn’t lose time in tabbing highly-touted Fil-Am Mikey Williams.
In turn, NLEX received Don Trollano, Roi Sumang, Maurice Shaw, and a 2022 second-round pick in exchange for the fourth overall selection.
From the three players, only Trollano is still with NLEX. Williams was Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP in the two times TNT became champion since his arrival.
Oftana was later also acquired by TNT in a three-team, six player trade with its sister team.
“In fairness naman nung andun ako sa NLEX, napag-usapan naman yan. Of course, merong resistance on my part,” Guiao recalled. “But at the end of the day, once tinanggap mo na and inaccept mo na, yun na yun. You also have to take responsibility on that.”
READ: Oftana now with TNT after three-team trade
As expected, Williams turned out to be a gem for the Tropang Giga as he played an integral part in ending a six-year title drought for the franchise when it won the Philippine Cup championship at the Bacolor bubble right in his very first conference in the league.
The high-scoring guard ended up as the Finals MVP, and later on, Rookie of the Year, First Mythical Selection, and a strong runner-up finish in the race for the season MVP won by Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra.
Oftana meanwhile, was a rising star in his first season at NLEX, who went on and broke the 34-year-old record of Allan Caidic for the most number of three point shots made by a rookie with eight and scored a career-playoff high of 32 points during the deciding Game 3 of the Philippine Cup quarterfinals against Magnolia.
Not soon after, Oftana found himself being traded to TNT as part of a three-team deal that also involved Blackwater and players Troy Rosario and rookie big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
The former NCAA MVP from San Beda later on also helped the Tropang Giga win the Governors’ Cup champion by dethroning Barangay Ginebra.
NLEX on the other hand, remained a playoff-bound team, which eventually parted ways with Guiao.
Having witnessed how Williams and Oftana keyed a TNT turnaround, Guiao hopes the same thing translate for Rain or Shine as it is bent on keeping its twin first round picks in the coming draft.
“Whatever it is that will make the team stronger, yan ang gawin mo sa 3 and 4,” Guiao remembered being told by Yu.
“Kumbaga yung sinasabi niyang yun, ibig sabihin siguro yung desisyon dun na pag sinabi natin ‘Boss, i-trade natin yung No. 3 sa isang player na tingin natin makakatulong sa atin, walang problema.’ Kapag sinabi naman natin na ida-draft natin yang 3 and, ike-keep natin yan dahil mga bata yan, idedevelop natin yan, yun na yun.”
While Guiao tends to believe he’s been given full authority by management on how to deal with the picks, he said the Rain or Shine owners still have a say on what to do with these.
“Nagdi-defer pa rin ako doon sa kung ano yung (gusto) ng mga Boss. Yun ang nagpapasuweldo sa atin kaya sila ang masusunod,” a smiling Guiao said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
