ANTIPOLO – Raymond Tiongco found himself joining guest team Macau Black Knights following a coaching change in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign.
Tiongco said the team reached out to him if he can be part of the coaching staff of new mentor Marcus Elliott, a personal friend of him.
And the invitation was coursed no less by Macau co-team manager Joemari Lacastesantos, who used to be a player of Tiongco with the Lyceum Pirates.
READ: NLEX stays hot as Bolick, Winston shut door on winless Macau
“Humanap siya (Lacastesantos) ng coach na matagal na rin sa PBA. So tumawag sila after na magpalit ng coach (Garrett Kelly),” he related. “Gusto nila tulungan ko sila dahil pamilyar ako sa PBA, sa individual players.”
It just so happened too, his stint with Titan Ultra was also over after serving as deputy to former Terrafirma partner Johnedel Cardel in the Giant Risers’ debut conference in the Philippine Cup.
“Kaya I ended up with them. Ito tinutulungan ko sila,” Tiongco said.
But seven games into its guest stint, Macau has yet to register a single win and absorbed a latest loss at the expense of NLEX Wednesday night, 106-97, at the Ynares Center.
For the second straight game, the Black Knights couldn’t hold on to the lead once the going got tough, similar to what happened to them in their previous outing against Meralco Bolts.
“Laging kapos, nahihirapan din. They’re adjusting especially sa calls, pero sabi ko masasanay din sila,” Tiongco said.
“Oo nga kapos, pero kaya naman.”
Then there’s adjustment too, in terms of communication and PBA rules.
“Mahirap kasi yung other foreign (players) namin are pure Chinese, so sobrang iksi ng English nila. So we have a translator di naman,” Tiongco said. “But the other guys, ok naman nagkaka-intindihan kami.”
“Yun lang talaga short rotation kami, so nahihirapan din talaga. Tapos may mga rule pa sila sa tatlong players namin na hindi puwedeng sabay-sabay,” added Tiongco, referring to import Tony Mitchell and Macau natives Damian Chongqui and Phoenix Shackelford.”
Tiongco, who primarily preaches defense on the Black Knights, said the stint with Macau is expected to extend until the rest of Season 50, by which time he hopes the guest team would have finally adjusted to the PBA environment.
“Yan ang sabi nila until the next tournament,” he said. “So ito yung experience nila maayos naming so makapag-adjust kami next conference.”
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