YENG Guiao doesn’t regret letting go of Dave Murrell, pointing out the decision to trade the Fil-Am sophomore was a two-way street.
“I totally have no regrets because alam ko naman nung binitawan namin siya it would be good for him and it would be good for us,” said Guiao after NLEX absorbed a 112-108 loss to Converge on Thursday night in a Philippine Cup game that saw Murrel set a PBA career high in scoring.
“I can only wish him well. And sa akin, we still made the right decision when we gave him up. So makakabuti sa amin, makakabuti rin yun sa kanya.”
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Indeed, Murrell has been playing very well this season after being acquired by the FiberXers from the Road Warriors in an off-season trade along with rookie Tyruss Hill for a first round pick in next year’s rookie draft.
And it so happened he dished out his best game as a pro against his former team at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, torching the Road Warriors for 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field as he ended up being chosen as the Best Player of the Game for the second time this conference.
While Guiao is happy with the breaks the 25-year-old Murrell has been getting from the FiberXers, he said trading away the University of the Philippines product should not be gauged by just one or two games alone.
“You can’t measure that with just one game. Kailangan nito long-term. How will he be in six months or one year, maybe two years?” the NLEX mentor pointed out.
“Was that decision really good for him? Ganun din sa amin.”
The loss was the second straight for NLEX, which fell to an even 4-4 record, while Converge halted a two-game skid to rise at 3-5.
Guiao still likes the Road Warriors’ playoff chances despite the back-to-back losses.
“Hindi naman mame-measure yung galing mo doon sa last two games mo, e. Dapat ma-measure yan kung gaano ka kagaling makabawi,” he said. “So we look forward to our game against Rain or Shine on Saturday kung makakabawi kami.”