NLEX coach Yeng Guiao is eyeing to win a PBA crown this year with two of the team’s veterans appeared headed towards retirement after the 2020 season.
Guiao hinted that Asi Taulava and Cyrus Baguio are already tinkering about retirement after the coming season, and the Road Warriors are looking towards giving the two a swan song with a strong finish in 2020.
“Asi and Cyrus are being evaluated if they can still make a contribution,” said Guiao. “We would want to give them a good sendoff kung sakali if they prefer to hang up their sneakers after this conference or this year.”
“We are hoping that they do it in a winning manner,” Guiao said.
The 46-year-old Taulava is set to play his 21st season in the PBA, joining the team’s practices for the squad’s preparation for the Philippine Cup. NLEX management is still finalizing on the tenure of his new contract with the team.
Taulava has been in the PBA since 1999 when he was a direct hire of Mobiline, winning a title with the Phone Pals in the 2003 All-Filipino Cup, and eventually the MVP of the league.
The conference where Taulava won his only PBA title was just the first for Baguio, drafted in the second round (14th overall) by Red Bull earlier that year. The former University of Santo Tomas cager had some of his best years of his PBA career with the Barako, who incidentally was coached by Guiao.
He won one of his PBA three titles with Red Bull in the 2006 Fiesta Conference. After his stint with Red Bull ended in 2008, Baguio suited up for Burger King, Barangay Ginebra, Alaska, and Phoenix before he was taken by NLEX in 2017, reuniting him with his former coach in Guiao.
The 17-year veteran has been practicing with NLEX, like Taulava, in preparation for the 2020 season.
NLEX is coming off a disappointing finish in 2019 where the Road Warriors were eliminated by NorthPort in the quarterfinals of the Governors’ Cup despite topping the elimination round.
“Gusto talaga namin na maganda ‘yung performance namin para at least, whatever their plans are, it’s going to maybe give them a highlight in terms of their careers,” said Guiao.
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