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    Guiao says 'five times harder for an independent team to win PBA title'

    Yeng spewing real talk on state of PBA in his first day back as ROS coach
    Sep 6, 2022
    Yeng Guiao runs his first practice as returning Rain or Shine coach.
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

    YENG Guiao has won seven championships in a long and colorful PBA coaching career, the last two with Rain or Shine.

    But on the day he officially returned to the Rain or Shine fold, the veteran coach admitted it has become 'five times harder' for an independent team to win a championship against MVP- and SMC-controlled ballclubs since he and the Elasto Painters last pulled off the feat in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup.

    It has been six years since an independent team won a title and almost four years, or since Alaska in 2018, that a non-MVP and SMC ballclub reached the finals and Guiao said everyone knows why such is the case.

    [READ: Yeng Guiao signs 3-year contract on return to Rain or Shine]

    His explanation, however, ended up becoming a serious indictment of how the pro league has allowed the balance of power to spiral out of control, no thanks to the wanton disregard of league rules on salary caps and the rookie draft, as well as alleged collusion among sister ballclubs.

    "If you're an independent team in the league now, everthing is stacked against you," said Guiao, who rejoined Rain or Shine after parting ways with NLEX. "If you are a team with an honest and sincere desire to win a championship, how can you compete against the resources of these two groups?"

    The outspoken coach added: "The playing field is no longer even. Not just that, it's not any more transparent what happens in the league. Horse trading na lang ang mangyayari pagdating sa mga players. Sila-sila na lang ang lumalakas."

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      Even a well-meaning rule like unrestricted free agency has been weaponized to favor the haves over the have-nots, Guiao rued.

      "For example, si [Robert] Bolick ba makukuha namin 'yan? Or si [Jamie] Malonzo? Hindi syempre. Mapupunta lahat sa San Miguel 'yan. Instantly, they become stronger. Kami unfortunately, we have no means to do that.

      "How about [Rey] Nambatac?" he continued, pointing to ROS' most prized asset who will be an unrestricted free agent in two years' time. "Can you offer what San Miguel and TNT can offer when he becomes a free agent?"

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      Yeng Guiao runs his first practice as returning Rain or Shine coach.

      The former Gilas Pilipinas coach said reaching the semifinals has sadly become very hard for independent teams, which have to bump off some of the six stacked teams from both the SMC and MVP blocs to get there.

      "Kahit sa semifinals nga, ang hirap ng pumasok," Guiao said. "To reach the Top Four, you must bump off some of the well-financed [SMC and MVP] teams with access to talent not only from their own backyard but also from other teams."

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      [READ: Nambatac: 'Willing ako matuto kay coach Yeng]

      If Guiao considers himself a 'prodigal son' upon his return to the Rain or Shine camp, his former NLEX side ended up being treated more like an ugly duckling in his former camp after being raided for players and draft picks during his stay there.

      But the 63-year old insisted he is not spewing real talk out of bitterness for what happened to him at NLEX, but out of a sincere desire to bring another championship to his ROS family despite the tremendous odds stacked against them.

      "The challenge is how to formulate a winning team with all the odds stacked against you," said Guiao. "You have to wrack your brain to be able to do that and you have to work five times harder to win [compared to an SMC or MVP team.]"

      Yeng Guiao at Rain or Shine

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      How to do it?

      Guiao said in the end, the only way you can stump a stacked team is to form a group of tight-knit players who will go to war for each other - much like his old winning teams at Rain or Shine, and, before that, at Red Bull.

      "You have to build character. You have to find players who will be looking out for each other," he said. "You'll certainly be lacking in talent, so you must find a way to compensate. Build a real team. That's our goal right now here at Rain or Shine."

      Here's Guiao overseeing his first practice at Rain or Shine:

      Yeng Guiao runs first practice at Rain or Shine.

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      PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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