NLEX coach Yeng Guiao lamented the parity, or the lack of it, in the PBA following the series of trades that went down over the past few weeks that shifted the balance of power to only four teams in the league.
In an interview on the television show The Chasedown on Saturday, Guiao rued the growing imbalance in the league, saying the rest of the field outside the Big Four are no longer in contention for the title chase this coming season.
“I think every PBA fan wants parity,” said Guiao. “Gusto ng mga PBA fans, maganda ang mga laban, pare-parehas ang lakas ng mga teams. Labanan talaga. Pagalingan talaga. (Pero) tingin ko nga, merong mga teams na sobrang lakas na.”
“Ang feeling ko nga, nung nakita ko ‘yung mga line-up na ‘yan, ang feeling ko na lang, ang pinaglalabanan na lang dito fifth place eh,” Guiao added.
Guiao mentioned defending Philippine Cup champion Barangay Ginebra, San Miguel, Magnolia, and even NLEX’s sister team TNT as the teams that will turned Asia's first pro league into a veritable four-horse race.
“Dati, sinasabi natin, kapag may isang malakas na team, second place na lang ang pinaglalabanan, alam na natin kung sino ang magcha-champion. Pero ngayon, ang tingin ko, fifth place na lang ang pinaglalabanan.
"‘Yung Ginebra, ‘yung San Miguel, ‘yung Talk ‘N Text, tsaka ‘yung Magnolia, top four teams, palagay ko mahirap na buwagin ‘yun,” he added.
“Although of course, lumakas din ‘yung Phoenix, lumakas ‘yung Meralco, lumakas din ‘yung Alaska, I hope lalakas din kami. Ang hirap ng buwagin ‘yung apat na team, ‘yun kasi sobrang lakas na,” said Guiao.
To prove his point, Guiao said the core of Gilas Pilipinas over the past few years are now playing for the Big Four, most of them he had coached in the Fiba Basketball World Cup, the Asian qualifiers, and in the Asian Games.
“Ginebra, for example. Eh kalahati na ng Gilas team ko ’yun eh. Nandoon na si Christian, nandoon na si Stanley, nandoon na si Japeth, nandoon na si LA, nandoon na si Scottie. Eh Gilas team ’yun eh. Gilas team ko ’yun eh. Nagamit ko ‘yun sa window, ‘yung iba nagamit ko sa World Cup.
"Imagine that kind of firepower that you have. You can’t out-talent the team. You can’t outcoach Tim Cone. Paano mo pa tatalunin?”
“Puntahan mo ‘yung San Miguel. Nagbabalik na si June Mar, Gilas. Si Arwind, nag-Gilas din sa akin. Si Marcio Lassiter, nag-Gilas din sa akin. Nilagay mo pa si CJ Perez, Gilas player ko din si CJ. Nandoon pa si Cabagnot, nag-Gilas din ‘yan sa akin. Nandoon pa si Ross. Paano mo bubuwagin ‘yung team na ‘yan.”
“Pasok ngayon si Talk ‘N Text, nawala pa nga si Ray Parks diyan. Gilas si Poy. Gilas si Troy Rosario. Gilas si Pogoy. Gilas din si Jayson Castro. Lahat ng Gilas team, nandito na sa top four. Tapos makukuha pa nila ‘yung number four pick.”
“Bagsak tayo ngayon sa Magnolia. Nag-Gilas si Ian. Nandiyan na si Calvin Abueva. Nandiyan si Paul Lee, Gilas din. Nag-Gilas din sa akin si Barroca. Nandiyan sa top four teams na ‘yan ang ating lahat ng Gilas pool.
As for NLEX and the other teams, Guiao said: “Ang matitira na lang sa akin, si Kiefer na lang ang galing sa Gilas. After that, siguro ‘yung mga teams na matitira, masuwerte ka kung meron kang isang player na naglaro sa Gilas. Pero all the top players are in the top four teams.”
Aside from having the top players, Guiao said the four squads also have the best coaches in the PBA in Tim Cone, Leo Austria, Chot Reyes and Chito Victolero.
“They have the top coaches. Anong gagawin mo? You can’t outcoach them. You can’t outtalent them. How do you beat them? You say, you are going to outwork them. All the teams are working hard. You can’t even say you are going to outwork a team. There is no team that is not working hard. All teams are working hard. It’s only the matter of the pieces. It’s the pieces and probably a little bit of the coaching.”
“Pero sabi ko nga, nandoon na sa kanila ‘yung Gilas pool, nasa top four teams. Kami, may isa. Meralco, may isa. Ewan ko kung masasabi mong Gilas si Raul Soyud. Nag-practice siya ng dalawang linggo sa Gilas. Si Kevin Alas, previously, nakalaro ng konti sa Gilas. But the other teams, they just have to work with what they have. Agrabyado ka na sa apat na teams na ’yun.”
Incidentally, NLEX is also coming off a trade in which its fourth pick in the draft was obtained by TNT, a move Guiao said is a decision by upper management, and not his. The Road Warriors were left with the No. 3 pick in the first round after the deal.
Guiao said he is already studying the opposition in preparation for the 2021 PBA season, but even after a thorough evaluation, the seven-time league champion doesn’t see any weaknesses in the four aforementioned squads from any aspect.
“I don’t know if they realize that. Tinitignan mo ‘yan from a coaching point of view. Naghahanap ka ng butas, naghahanap ka ng weakness, naghahanap ka ng advantage. Wala kang mahanap na butas, wala kang mahanap na weakness. Are you going to say I’m going to outcoach Tim Cone or I’m going to outcoach Leo Austria? Ang hirap. Hindi mo ma-outcoach ‘yung mga ‘yun. Sobrang beterano na rin ‘yung mga ‘yun. Are you going to say mas maganda sistema namin? Proven na ‘yung sistema nila eh. How can you beat them,” said Guiao.
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