THE grass, indeed, is not always greener on the other side.
Yeng Guiao realized it’s greener where you water it.
Finding his way back to Rain or Shine six years after leaving the Elasto Painters in 2016 for MVP group team NLEX, the outspoken mentor underlined the pride of returning to his true calling – raising the banner for independent teams.
“Ito yung niche ko na I’m not going to be as great a coach as Tim Cone, who’s won twenty-five, thirty titles; hindi ko na mabilang,” Guiao said on the Locked Down podcast on Sports Beat PH about the Barangay Ginebra coach, the winningest in PBA history with 25 titles.
“Before, I wanted to do that, for sure,” Guiao admitted. “But you come to a realization na that’s not your role. You can win a few, which I already did. You can try to win one or two more, which we are trying to do. But that’s not my niche.”
Guiao has seven championships under his belt, good for seventh place on the all-time list among coaches. His last title, though, came in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.
“You can accept that after a while, pero initially, gusto mo kailangan paramihan din ng championship. Eh hindi ka talaga uubra eh. Hindi mo talaga pwede labanan dun,” Guiao said.
“So hahanap ka ngayon ng, ‘Where’s my niche?’ Where can I be most effective? Where can I make the most impact?’ Heto ako sa independent team,” the two-time PBA Coach of the Year added as he returned to the welcoming arms of RoS owners Raymond Yu and Terry Que.
Guiao knows exceeding expectations here feels more gratifying than living up to the lofty standards of sister teams.
“Kasi makasundot lang ako nang minsan dito, okay na eh. Makalusot lang ako ng semifinals, yung mga teams na ang laki ng ginagastos nasingitan namin. Makalusot lang ako ng finals, parang champion na ako compared dun sa mga hindi nakarating ng finals.”
“So dun mo nakikita yung value mo,” he added. “Dun mo nakikita yung niche mo na kumbaga sa molde, ito yung pinasukan mong molde na sakto yung paniniwala mo; Magaan sa’yo magtrabaho. Mga kasuap mo, sincere sila sa sinasabi nila. Alam mo na naiitindihan nila yung sitwasyon mo.”
Lessons learned from NLEX
Guiao, however, has nothing ill to say about the Road Warriors after steering them to two semifinal appearances.
“In fairness to my bosses doon sa NLEX, yung intention nila maganda eh, intention nila malinis eh.”
There came a point, though, when NLEX upper management appeared to supercede Guiao, who was also the concurrent general manager supposedly having the final say on deals, when the Road Warriors traded Poy Erram to sister club TNT.
“There will always be constraints,” Guiao said. “May mga constraints talaga anywhere you go. Naiintindihan ko yun eh. Kaya ang ano mo dun, if you want to stay there, then you work within those constraints. Pag hindi ka na makatrabaho dun sa constraints na yun, pwede kang umails. Ganun lang kasimple yun.”
Apart from the constraints, there’s immense pressure to deliver if you’re handling a team from either the MVP group or the SMC bloc, Guiao continued.
“Kasi mayroong mga sitwasyon na sobrang lakas ng team mo, talagang hindi ka pwede matalo. Dapat minimum mo dyan finals. Pag hindi ka nakapasok ng finals, sa laki ng ginagastos natin, sa lakas ng team mo, underperformance yan. So may additional pressure talaga sa’yo.”
“Although parati namang may pressure eh,” he was quick to add, now on his eighth year with RoS overall. “Kahit nasa independent team ka, kahit nasa lower team ka, kailangan mo pa rin manalo. But at least, I think people treat you more realistically 'pag nandun ka sa niche mo na yun.”
So looks like Guiao didn’t have to look elsewhere to find greener pastures.
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