A SMILING Yeng Guiao could only take with a grain of salt insinuations that he was partly responsible for the coaching shakeup at the San Miguel Beer camp.
The Beermen decided to shuffle their coaching staff by bringing back Leo Austria as head coach and relegating Jorge Gallent to a consultant role following the team’s 107-93 loss to Guiao and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“Nagpasalamat na sa akin si Leo Austria. Joke lang,” texted Guiao. “Baka marami na ring dahilan. Last straw yung talo sa amin.”
READ Austria to continue short rotation in return to SMB as coach
The loss to the Elasto Painters was actually the second straight for the reigning champions, who were coming off a 104-99 upset against hot-shooting Robert Bolick and the NLEX Road Warriors three days prior in a game where the Beermen lost a 19-point lead.
The back-to-back losses sent the Beermen reeling to a 1-2 record early in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign. Their lone win came at the expense of Phoenix (107-104) behind the game-winner of veteran Marcio Lassiter.
It may just be a coincidence that the San Miguel coaching change happened shortly after the Rain or Shine win, according to Guiao.
Going to the match, the veteran coach said all the Elasto Painters wanted was to settle an old score against the Beermen for sweeping them in the semifinals of the Philippine Cup.
“Motivation sa amin 'yun. Gusto naming makabalik kahit papaano,” Guiao admitted.
Behind their young core and fresh legs, the Elasto Painters ran the Beermen to the ground, scoring 37 points in the fourth quarter where they pulled away for good after a see-saw battle in the first three periods.
“I keep pushing the boys that our only chance against San Miguel is to play fast. Kapag nakipag-half court game ka sa kanila, wala kang chance na manalo. The only chance for us to win is to play at a pace where they may not be comfortable,” offered Guiao.
“Tutal yun naman ang normal pace namin, gusto namin mabils din ang laro. And I think that it worked.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
