Rain or Shine came into the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup Finals with a bunch of first-timers against B-Meg, a team coming off a recent title and top-heavy with the league’s biggest stars.
And with an average age of only 27 years old, the Elasto Painters were the new kids on the block when they took on the Llamados, who had two-time MVP James Yap leading a crop of veterans mostly in their thirties.
But for Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao that could have been the main reason why the Elasto Painters prevailed in Game 7 Sunday to bag their first-ever PBA title.
“Mas presko yung mga bata. Dumating pa ng Game 7. Kapag bata ka, mas durable ka to withstand the rigors of a long series,” said Guiao, who also claimed his sixth title as a PBA coach.
Then factor in the fact that Rain or Shine has yet to land a title since joining the league in 2006, Guiao pointed out that “hunger and youth” proved to be the winning formula for the Elasto Painters.
“Mas gutom kami. Sila sanay na manalo,” he said.
Guiao also felt that they were also able to correctly assess their strengths and weaknesses against the Llamados early on and focused on employing a more physical game throughout the seven-game series.
“They were kind of wary of the kind of physical game that we employed. But that was only in their mind. Nagsuot pa sila ng T-shirt kahapon na may  ‘Only Us Need Apply.’ I felt na para gawin nila yun, we had gone into their heads. We psyched them out,” he noted.
Guiao surmised that B-Meg coach Tim Cone and his Llamados may have been convinced that they could pull off the win in Game 7 after they dominated his Elasto Painters in Games 5 and 6 handily.
“What they didn’t know was nakapag-adjust na kami nung Game 7 which we were not doing in Games 5 and 6. It took us those two losses to realize (our mistakes). Mabagal pa nga kami pumick-up,” he recalled.
One such major adjustment proved pivotal in that Game 7 win. “We started to attack (Marqus) Blakely that’s why he fouled out early,” Guiao, also the vice governor of Pampanga, pointed out.
But the feisty mentor did reveal that he did harbor doubts after those losses in Games 5 and 6, an emotion he successfully hid from sportswriters with such comments as, “Na-delay lang uli, kami pa rin mananalo.”
“Siyempre kakabahan ka. Meron ka nang duda,” Guiao admitted.
In the end, it was the “young and old” aspect of the team that provided the winning combination for Rain or Shine’s road to greatness this Conference.
With a young roster of players, Guiao, 53 and one of the toughest task masters in the league, said that he and his Elasto Painters were able to work “under a structure and a system that they have to follow.”
Assisting him at the bench are long-time partner Roehl Nadurata who, at 67, brings in the touch of a grandfather to the team, and Caloy Garcia, Rain or Shine’s loyal tactician. Even team manager Andy Jao, a league habitué going back to its establishment 37 years ago, may have also provided valuable guidance to the squad.
“The players had the freedom to do what they feel they were able to do but, at the same time, limited within the structure I have outlined,” he explained.
Being in a team wanting in marquee players with star-attitude, Guiao said he didn’t have to deal much with his players’ egos.
“Or else, di mo mae-employ yung system. But there are star players who surrender their egos to you, who consider the team as bigger than them. But if they feel they are entitled, patay ka na dun,” he averred.