YENG Guiao is not one to mince words, and he was hard on his players after a Game Three loss where the Rain or Shine coach felt they lacked fight.
“Pinagalitan ko talaga sila. Hindi ako natuwa sa kung paano sila lumaban,” said the fiery coach.
Two days after a 69-78 loss to San Mig in Game Three left the Elasto Painters backed against the wall in the PBA Governors Cup Finals, Guiao was still clearly steaming.
“Hindi masama ang matalo ka eh. Pero lumaban ka naman. Yung Game Three namin talagang makikita mo parang sumuko na agad sila eh,” said the fiery mentor.
He was particularly hard on the usually prolific Paul Lee, who had more turnovers (four) than points (two) on Saturday while going 0-of-4 from three-point land land 1-of-6 overall.
A source told Spin.ph how Guiao singled out Lee during the post-game huddle.
“Ikaw Paul. First half pa lang alam ko talo na tayo. Kitang kita ko sa body language mo. Bagsak ang balikat mo. Ganito oh,” said Guiao while trying to mimic Lee.
“Nakikita ko sa mga body language niyo na ayaw niyong manalo. Parang sumuko na agad kayo.”
Import Arizona Reid was the lone bright spot for Rain or Shine in Game Three with 31 points while Beau Belga came up with two big baskets late.
Asked if he again uttered his sarcastic, “Biyahe ba kayo? Baka gusto niyo akong isama?” line during the post-game huddle, Guiao only broke into a hearty laugh.
“Hindi. Amin-amin lang naman 'yun. Yun ang sinasabi ko sa kanila pag talagang di ko nakikitang lumalaro sila ng matino,” said the outspoken coach.
“Pero syempre, sa pagkatalo namin last time, gusto kong maniwala na off night sila at nag-struggle lang. At sinabi ko rin sa kanila na hindi kayo pwedeng lumaro ng masama ng dalawang magkasunod na gabi.
“Sa akin, basta’t lumaban ang players ko, wala silang madidinig sa akin,” he added. “Kaya sa practice, sinabihan ko sila na hindi pupuwedeng mag off night kayo ng dalawang sunod na gabi.”
Guiao’s first assistant, Caloy Garcia, echoed the sentiment of their six-time champion coach.
“Sinabihan lang niya 'yung buong team na there’s no other way but to win tonight,” said Garcia, who is also coach of the Letran Knights. “He emphasized yung turnovers namin. Limang sunod na turnovers kami sa fourth quarter.
“Basta ipakita lang daw ng mga players na gusto nilang manalo. In case na matalo kami, ayaw niyang makita na malamya yung mga players. Of course, we want to win. He wants quality games from the players.”
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