Guiao to quit if Gilas misses FIBA World Cup berth

MANILA, Philippines — After making quite the statement, Gilas Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao scripted another one last Monday.

Shortly after steering the Nationals past the visiting Qataris to a come-from-behind win during a closed-door affair at the Big Dome, Guiao said he’d prefer to tow the team all the way to the end of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

“I'll just wait for the formal announcement of (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas) if they would want me to continue coaching,” he told the press. “The next window is November 30 and December 3, then after that February, tapos World Cup na.”

“Actually ang sabi ko lang naman, kung ibibigay nila sa akin dahil maganda na ang samahan namin, formally, tatanggapin ko naman. Pero ang sinasabi ko rin, pag hindi tayo nakarating ng World Cup … bahala na kayo sa buhay niyo. I will walk away, hindi ko pala kaya. Pero pag nadala namin sa World Cup, hindi ko naman ika-kapit tuko eh,” Guiao explained.

But Guiao, who replaced a suspended Chot Reyes for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia last August and for the fourth window of the continental contest, suggested that he is going through the setup by the book.

“It's really just delivering the objective or kung ano 'yung purpose nito. Bakit ba tayo andito? Gusto nating makarating sa World Cup eh. So pag hindi tayo nakarating sa World Cup, ikaw ang coach, magresign ka. So sabi ko, ganoon ang [setup] ko,” he explained. 

“Kung makarating tayo sa World Cup, 'di mag-usap ulit tayo,” Guiao added.

A former national team coach, Guiao improved the Philippines’ record in the Asiad by leading the team to a fifth-place finish. During the resumption of the World Cup’s latest window, he split his wins against Iran and Qatar with the game against the former team figuring as a heartbreaking one.

“Hindi ko naman kakapitan itong position na ito kung 'di ko kaya ito, meron siguro diyan na may kaya,” Guiao went on to offer.

The tough-talking mentor added that he’s bound to miss his wards as they’ve already developed camaraderie throughout their recent international campaigns.

“At saka, nami-miss ko itong mga batang 'to. After a while, there's a bond that develops, because nakita mo napuputukan sa kilay, nakita mo dumudugo ang ilong, nakita mo nawawalan ng ngipin, nakita mo nagtitiis sila, buntis ang asawa nila, andito sila. Eh ano ba naman 'yung hirap ko, 'di ba?” Guiao raised. 

“Tapos iiwanan mo, tapos tatanggihan mo? Anong klaseng samahan 'yan? Anong klaseng tao ka? Magsama-sama tayo, subukan natin kung saan tayo makarating. 'Di tayo makarating, maghiwa-hiwalay tayo. Bahala na 'yung SBP kung ano gusto nilang gawin. Ganoon lang ka-simple,” he continued.

“Wala naman kaming pinag-usapang pera dito eh. Wala naman kaming pinag-usapang incentive dito eh. Basta tinuro lang kami, naglaro na kami, nag-coach na kami. Wala namang ipinangako sa amin dito, gusto lang namin mag-silbi,” he closed.