WHETHER he is a vice-governor or a congressman, Yeng Guiao is welcome to call the shots for Rain or Shine.
Raymund Yu, co-owner of the Asian Coating franchise together with Terry Que, said the team wants Guiao to stay on as coach for as long as his schedule as a public servant does not stop him from performing his coaching duties.
“Napag-usapan naman namin ni coach na basta walang conflict sa political career niya, he can coach our team,” Yu intimated to Spin.ph.
“We’re very happy to have him as our coach.”
Guiao is now serving out his third and final term as vice governor of Pampanga, and will seek the congressional seat of the province’s first district in the coming national elections.
The outspoken coach has already said that he plans to continue coaching even if he earns a seat in Congress.
Before the son of the late former Pampanga Gov. Bren Guiao hits the campaign trail, the Rain or Shine coach steered the team to a second straight PBA Finals appearance for a runner-up finish behind three-time champion Talk `N Text in the Philippine Cup.
Yu said the 0-4 sweep in the title series was definitely a bitter pill to swallow, but added in retrospect, the team didn’t do that bad at all.
“The result of the recent championship series was really disappointing, but if you keep things in perspective, we’ve been in the Finals for the last six months,” Yu said, referring to the successful title run the Elasto Painters had in the Governors Cup opposite powerhouse San Mig Coffee.
Yu's partnership with Que had produced several championships in the defunct PBL, but the franchise did not have the same kind of success in the pro league until Guiao came on board midway through the 2011 season.
Hopes are high again for the team in the coming Commissioner’s Cup as the team will have 7-foot-3 Croatian slotman Bruno Sundov for its import.
An NBA veteran, Sundov had stints with the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks, submitting career averages of 1.7 points and one rebound per game.
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