Yeng Guiao happy to be given full control at NLEX
IN THE history of the PBA, only a few people were given the distinction of handling the position of general manager and coach at the same time.
Dante Silverio, in his early days at Toyota, was given full management control on top of his head coaching job. In fact, he started as team manager of Toyota in the pre-PBA days before taking the reins from Nilo Verona when they started entering the pro league.
Danny Floro may be the amiable team manager of Crispa for a long time, but when it comes to running the direction of the team, Baby Dalupan, the longest-serving head coach of the squad, knows best.
Yeng Guiao, who was officially appointed as general manager/ head coach of NLEX, thought Mr. Dalupan, his coaching idol, was a shining example of a mentor who was given total control of his team.
“In fact, he’s like the owner. Whatever he wants for the team, the bosses of Crispa would follow him,” Mr. Guiao told BusinessWorld. “He has total control of the team.”
Mr. Guiao is officially the general manager/ head coach of the Road Warriors, a role that is similarly given to Ryan Gregorio when he moved from being head coach of Purefoods to becoming the head of basketball of operations of the Bolts and at the same time, the team’s mentor.
Slowly, Mr. Guiao’s blue print is making its presence felt following the acquisitions he made on JR Quiñahan and Alex Mallari, who are both playing key roles for the team’s last two games capped by the Road Warriors’ first ever win in the Commissioner’s Cup following an upset win over Alaska.
For Mr. Guiao, he couldn’t thank the management enough for the trust being given to him.
“I’m grateful. First time it happened to me. I’m flattered. I’m trying to prove to them that what we’re doing of getting players of your personal choice was the right move. They’ve been very supportive,” added Mr. Guiao.
With NLEX finally snapping the skid, the losing streak ended at 13 and didn’t exceed the longest winning drought of Mr. Guiao’s career.
But for Mr. Guiao, there are more important tasks at hand than the record itself.
“I’m not a record person. I really don’t consciously go for a record or consciously try to measure my achievements based on the record. I think the present is the more important thing. Records are a thing of the past. The more important thing is how you conduct yourself in a present time,” he added.