Thursday, November 06, 2008 Ex-RP head coaches offer advice to Guiao
MANILA - For the second time since its creation, the RP-PBA advisory group led by former senator Robert S. Jaworksi met Tuesday evening at Shangri-La Plaza, discussed the 14-man Philippine team lineup drawn up by national coach Yeng Guiao, and came up with suggestions for possible consideration.
Everything discussed during the closed-door meeting attended by former national coaches Norman Black, Tim Cone, Jong Uichico and Jaworski will be emailed to Guiao, who left for the States on a business trip early Tuesday, for study.
PBA commissioner Renauld ‘Sonny’ Barrios, who brought together the council of coaches of previous PBA-backed national teams on Guiao’s request upon his selection a couple of months ago, will be getting in touch with Guiao today.
Chot Reyes, who handled the RP squad during the 2007 FIBA-Asia Olympic qualifier in Tokushima, was absent due to an earlier engagement but shared valuable insights with Guiao when the group first met last month.
All four coaches begged off from disclosing details of their discussion.
Advisors
“We’re just here on an advisory capacity,” said Cone, coach of the 1998 RP team in the Bangkok Asian Games. “All our suggestions will be forwarded to coach Yeng. Whatever he decides on, we will be there to support.”
“It was a fruitful meeting,” said Black, who handled the nationals in the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad. “We were able to exchange ideas, and these will be delivered to coach Yeng.”
Both Jaworski, the 1990 RP-Beijing Asian Games team mentor, and Uichico, who coached the 2002 RP-Busan squad, both stressed the importance of outside shooting and general attitude but stopped short of going into particulars.
“We’ll see how coach Yeng responds,” said Barrios, who has scheduled a luncheon meeting between the league governors and Guiao on Nov. 13.
Suggestions
“I’d like to think that he’ll be responding to the suggestions before he returns early next week.”
Guiao is supposed to officially name the team on Nov. 14, but he may be forced to delay the announcement a few more days in light of the advisory group’s proposals.
“The advisory group has left itself available to coach Yeng before he names the team,” Barrios said. “The set date is tentative, if he says he’s prepared to postpone naming the team.”
Barrios wouldn’t comment on the possibility of other PBA players getting added to the 14-man roster or of new names actually replacing those already in it.
“It will all be up to coach Yeng,” he said. (PBA Media Bureau)
