Yeng Guiao ends head coaching stint with NLEX

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Yeng Guiao will no longer call the shots for the NLEX Road Warriors.

The biggest news in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) so far came when both parties failed to have an agreement regarding Guiao’s contract extension as NLEX’s head coach.

This will also be a big blow to the Road Warriors after Guiao’s commitment to grooming the team once again after another failed playoff run.

With only three weeks left before the kick-off of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, NLEX will have to find a late replacement for Guiao who already led several team practices since the start of their training camp.

Since leaving the Rain or Shine Elastopainters to accept his new role as NLEX’s new mentor last 2016, Guiao put all of his dedication into forming a consistent playoff squad that eventually paid dividends.

The Guiao-led Road Warriors squad reached the semifinals of the PBA twice and has become a legitimate threat for the title.

It was also Guiao who was responsible for drafting Kiefer Ravena last 2017 but failed to keep him as the team’s franchise player when the former Ateneo Blue Eagle decided to sign with the Shiga Lakestars in the Japan B. League.

Guiao was also NLEX’s chief tactician when the talented Poy Erram started to blossom as a two-way center but was later on traded to the TNT Tropang Giga for several draft picks.

As of now, rumors keep on spreading that Guiao will go back and resign a contract with Rain or Shine to continue the culture he built during the Paul Lee-Beau Belga era.