NLEX Road Warriors head coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao is known in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) as the mentor who gives opportunities to lesser known players whatever team he handles.
From Red Bull Barako (Barako Bull Energy Boosters now), to Burger King Whoppers, to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and now to Road Warriors, Guiao embraced the philosophy of having a deep rotation.
In the Road Warriors, Guiao has a number of former reserve players who became vital cogs like Negrense center Raul Soyud, Michael Miranda, and Kenneth Ighalo.
Soyud and Ighalo spent their early seasons being on the reserve list. They worked their way up to become key contributors of the team. Miranda turned out to be a steady presence up front for the Road Warriors.
“Ang hinahanap lang ng karamihang player ‘just give me a break.’ When you say break, you’re not saying playing only two to three minutes,” said the seven-time PBA champion coach.
“Kapag pinalaro mo ang player ng two or three minutes, hindi mo siya binibigyan ng break eh, you’re just destroying the player. No player will play well in two or three minutes,” he added.
“Kapag ginamit mo ‘yung player, bigyan mo ng mga seven to eight minutes and then give him a chance in that seven to eight minutes to get another chance of going back to the court. When a player knows that, sa practice pa lang, magpupursige na ako,” he further said.
Guiao admitted that, while majority of coaches were more concern on who will start in games, he is focused on his finishing five.
“Sa akin kasi, it’s not really who you start. It’s very important to get a good start. That’s already integrated into that equation. But what’s important is who do you end the game with,” said Guiao.
“Sino ba ‘yung nagtatapos? Sino ba ‘yung closers niyo? So during the game, they need to prove to themselves or to me that they can be the closers,” he added.
“Puwedeng mag-starting five kahit sino, pero ang iniisip ko, sino ba ang pangtapos ko in a close game? That’s when you want to figure out who will be your solid five to end the game. That’s the basis of it all.”/PN
