For 'Rain's' reign, Guiao is year's best

MANILA, Philippines – For ending Rain or Shine’s six-year wait for a coveted PBA crown, coach Yeng Guiao will be the recipient of the prestigious Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan Trophy as Coach of the Year in the Smart/PLDT 19th PBA Press Corps Awards on Monday at Kamayan EDSA.

Rain or Shine co-owners Raymond Yu and Terry Que will share center stage as they are named co-winners of the Executive of the Year award in the annual bash honoring the league’s top performers in the past season.

It’s the season of “Rain” with the Best Defensive Player plum going to Elasto Painter skipper Jireh Ibanes.

Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa, Talk n Text’s Larry Fonacier and Powerade’s Gary David are the other major awardees in the rites to be graced by former Sen. Freddie Webb as guest of honor and speaker.

Also to be cited are Paul Lee, Jayvee Casio, Marcio Lassiter, Dylan Ababou and James Sena composing the All-Rookie Team.

Guiao, the firebrand bench tactician turning Rain or Shine to a winning team, takes the spotlight as winner of the Dalupan Trophy for the second time in 11 years. 

The Elasto Painters had never gone beyond the .500 mark in a season until the campaign just past – their first full season under Guiao.

Coaches Chot Reyes and Tim Cone also carved their own feats, making them strong contenders for the award. Reyes became the first coach to win back-to-back Philippine Cup championships in over two decades while Cone snared a championship right in his first year as coach of B-Meg.

In the end, the sportswriters regularly covering the PBA beat, however, gave more weight on the giant breakthrough Rain or Shine achieved under Guiao.

After a season where they won just 16 of 40 games, the Elasto Painters improved with a 31-22 season mark highlighted by their 4-3 conquest of the Llamados in the Governors Cup best-of-seven finals.

Before this, the Asian Coating Inc. had never gone past the semifinals in any conference under coaches Leo Austria and Caloy Garcia.