'Red Bull will be up there without me'

Even with him gone, coach Yeng Guiao believes Red Bull will regain its old lofty status in the future, owing, for one, to the great attributes of team owner George Chua who he described as a “fighter like me.”

But with uncertainties on where the team is headed at the moment, Guiao has decided, for good, to leave the team he coached for nine years.

“It was the sentiment of everybody (all the members of the Guiao family) that I have done everything I could for the team in nine years I was with the team,” Guiao told The STAR.

“If I were to define my career right now, I would say it was my stint with Red Bull. Not giving less importance on the years before that, but my stint with Red Bull is really the better years in my coaching,” added Guiao, who had previous coaching stints in the pro league with Swift Might Meaty and Pepsi.

Guiao, who won three championships with Red Bull, was to talk to the team owner last night to formally inform him of his decision finalized in a meeting with his family over dinner Thursday.

“I would thank them for the opportunity they gave me to coach the team. I’ll continue to have high respect for them whom I consider like my family,” said Guiao. “I really have no problem with them except that the competitiveness of the team has dipped.”

Guiao firmly believes, though, that the ball club will bounce back.

“I don’t think it (the hard times or the slump) would be permanent. Knowing Boss George, he’s a fighter and he won’t be happy not to regain the team’s competitiveness. Red Bull is not just about me. Red Bull pa rin yan kahit wala ako,” said Guiao.

In the meantime, Guiao said he would devote his time to the national team and the province of Pampanga where he’s the vice governor.

He stressed, though, that he’s open to coaching another team.

“National team at probinsya na muna ako. We’ll see what comes up. If there’s an offer, of course, I will consider,” he said.

Guiao had no legal problem to think about in quitting his job as he’s not bound by a contract with the team.

“Ako nagsabi sa kanila na huwag na kaming mag-kontrata dahil alam naman nila kung saan ang loyalty ko,” said Guiao.

Red Bull officials were not available for comment on Guiao’s resignation and on his replacement.

Guiao himself, however, said that he’s told by the team owner that the team is “just reorganizing, rebuilding and will stay in the league.”

The team has been reduced from championship contender to spoiler following the departures of former mainstays Willie Miller, Kerby Raymundo, Rico Villanueva, Lordy Tugade, Larry Fonacier, Junthy Valenzuela, Topex Robinson, Rich Alvarez, Mick Pennisi, Celino Cruz and Cyrus Baguio.

With a badly decimated lineup, the Bulls were the first team eliminated in the ongoing PBA tourney, winning only five of 18 games in the double-round elimination play.

Before that, Red Bull had always been a force to reckon with, having a long streak of finishes inside the top four.