Stunt nearly worked

Rain Or Shine coach Yeng Guiao did the unthinkable with 11:39 left in the second quarter as he led the Elasto Painters out of the court and into their dressing room presumably to let off steam in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday night.

San Mig Coffee was ahead, 30-17, at that point and Guiao was all riled up because of the officiating. Rain Or Shine had been slapped seven personals and the Mixers, three. Paul Lee and Ryan Arana were disarmed with two fouls apiece. Obviously, Guiao didn’t like the way Game 6 was playing out and wanted a shift in momentum. He later admitted he never thought of a complete walkout. It was his way to fire up his boys and throw off the Mixers’ rhythm.

Mixers coach Tim Cone said he was surprised and not surprised by the stunt. “It’s never been done to any of my teams before so I was surprised in that sense,” he said. “We were playing so well at that stage so when Yeng did that, I thought it would break our momentum and give them an advantage. Worse, I realized the partial walkout was just a delay of game violation. They were given a warning and not even a technical foul. I thought it almost worked. It created a change in momentum all the way until the fourth period. If a stunt like that isn’t penalized during a game, what will prevent someone from doing a partial walkout with no timeouts left in the last few seconds of a close contest? Not to put Yeng on the spot, I think a partial walkout should merit the ejection of the coach and a series of technical fouls. I haven’t really thought about it but maybe, the PBA should rethink this issue.”

It wasn’t the first time Guiao did a partial walkout. He also pulled the stint with Red Bull in 2006. Two teams are on record for staging complete walkouts, Anejo Rhum in 1990 and Talk ‘N’ Text in 2010. Under PBA rules, a team that walks out and stays off the court for at least 15 minutes forfeits the game and is assessed a fine of P10 Million. A team that stages a partial walkout or stays off the court for less than 15 minutes is fined $2 Million.

PBA media bureau chief Willy Marcial said commissioner Chito Salud has invited Rain Or Shine Governor Mamerto Mondragon and Painters team manager Boy Lapid to discuss the sanctions stemming from the partial walkout in a meeting at the PBA office in Libis at 10 this morning. “The rules on walkouts, partial or otherwise, are clear and we will enforce them accordingly,” said Salud. “Still, I don’t want one thing to be lost in all these – my respect and admiration for the players of both teams who gave it their all for the game and the fans. I commend them. They are a credit to the sport and they did the PBA proud.”

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From a 17-point deficit, Rain Or Shine clawed back and led, 65-62, before ending the third period on top, 67-66. It was a dramatic turnaround from a deep hole and Guiao’s stunt played a part in igniting the surge. If somehow the Painters managed to force a Game 7, Guiao would have been hailed as a genius for staging the partial walkout to wake up his players.

Cone said the stunt he’s known for infamously is something he regrets having done. It was in Game 1 of the Governors Cup finals between B-Meg, now San Mig Coffee, and Rain Or Shine. Cone threw a chair on the court. He was fined P20,000 for it. “That was at the Araneta and since then, they’ve banned coaches from sitting on chairs during a game,” he said. “That’s why you see Yeng sitting on an ice cooler instead of a chair.” Ironically, Cone’s chair-throwing incident happened in a final series against Guiao and Rain Or Shine. In that series, Rain Or Shine went up, 3-1 and eventually won, 4-3. This year, it was San Mig Coffee that surged ahead, 3-1, and finished off the Painters in Game 6.

Cone said what energized the Mixers for the final push last Wednesday was the huge San Mig Coffee crowd. “I could sense the adrenalin in our players, they were all pumped up,” he said. “When we moved up to lead by nine, our guys smelled the championship and the fans were really into it.” Rain Or Shine’s Gabe Norwood said it wasn’t that the Painters tired out down the stretch, it was more the San Mig Coffee fans reenergizing the Mixers. “The crowd got them going,” said Norwood. “We just couldn’t make plays. It’s tough. We played hard. They deserved it.”   

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Cone said he’s excited to reactivate Allein Maliksi but it won’t be until late May or early June. “We don’t want to rush it,” he said. “Allein is a dominant player and has loads of potential. He suffered a second ACL on the same knee so we’re looking at his long-term recovery. We want to make sure he’s 100 percent ready to play when he comes back. We don’t want a Derrick Rose situation. He’ll play a big role with us when he returns.”

With or without Maliksi, the Mixers’ lineup is formidable. There are only six players 31 or over with Rafi Reavis the oldest at 36. Cone has four rookies in the squad, Sangalang, Alex Mallari, Justin Melton and J. R. Cawaling. Sangalang, 22, is the Benjamin of the group but plays like a seasoned pro. James Yap and Pingris are both 32. They entered the league out of the 2004 draft where Rich Alvarez was the first overall pick. Yap was the second choice and Pingris, the third.

  San Mig Coffee has two first overall picks – Yancy de Ocampo in 2002 and Joe De Vance in 2007. Every player on the team was a first round choice except P. J. Simon, Cawaling and Melton. Simon, 33, was Sta. Lucia’s fifth round pick in 2001 and was the 43rd player chosen. Melton was drafted in the second round and Cawaling the third last year. It looks like the Mixers are built to last.