NLEX coach Yeng Guiao defended rookie Will McAloney after he got embroiled in a commotion in Thursday’s match in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The rookie sent TNT guard Ray Parks crashing to the floor with a slight nudge, sparking a near-scuffle that saw Jayson Castro confront McAloney and Guiao and TNT’s Jay Washington figuring in a heated exchange of words.
Guiao said McAloney is a hard-nosed rookie but he is not the kind who will hurt someone intentionally. The NLEX coach said television replays would show that there was no intention on McAloney's part to hurt Parks.
“Tinignan ko naman ‘yung foul ni Will McAloney. He had no bad intention. Ewan ko kung binu-bully or iniintimidate niya si Will,” said Guiao. "Sila [TNT] ‘yung nagpunta sa side namin. Pinuntahan kami sa side namin."

“Will is a rookie and he had no bad intention. Will has no bad bone in his body. He just plays hard everytime. To those who know how he plays in the MPBL, he is just a rugged player and he isn’t really looking to harm anybody,” he said.
The incident was the first of two commotions that marred the match. Parks was also involved in the other incident when he and JR Quinahan were slapped with flagrant foul penalty one for a near skirmish late in the game.
Guiao added he was also surprised that Washington also approached the NLEX side in the aftermath of the McAloney incident - the reason, the coach said, he confronted the TNT veteran forward.
“I don’t think J-Wash was even in the court when that happened. Pumasok siya sa court bawal na bawal ‘yun tapos nagpunta pa doon sa side namin. Lumapit sa side namin. I just didn’t want that to pass without them hearing my side,” said Guiao.
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