Guiao’s message to All-Star players: ‘Have your fun but you also want to win’

MANILA, Philippines – It won’t just be fun and games for coach Yeng Guiao in the 2016 PBA All-Star Weekend this August.

The outspoken Rain or Shine coach will be handling the North team comprised of Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra), Terrence Romeo (Globalport), Calvin Abueva (Alaska), Marc Pingris (Star), and Japeth Aguilar (Barangay Ginebra).

And although that team is full of highlight-reel magnets, Guiao wants them to take the All-Star Game seriously.

“You have to balance the fun with some seriousness,” he said Saturday, July 23, after the All-Star starters were announced.

“You don’t want just a sloppy game. You want to win of course, so my approach and my message to the team is you can have your fun, but you also want to win. So that’s going to be our battle cry. Puwede tayong mag-enjoy pero kailangan din tayo manalo (We can enjoy, but we also need to win).”

Guiao, 57, last won a title with Rain or Shine in the previous Commissioner’s Cup. He will be up against Leo Austria’s South team, which will have James Yap (Star), Scotti Thompson (Barangay Ginebra), June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beer), Greg Slaughter (Barangay Ginebra), and Joe Devance (Barangay Ginebra).

“Of course All Star, it’s an occasion for fun, it’s an occasion for perhaps a celebration of the league’s talents,” he said.

“Me, I’m just there for fun also. It’s an honor to be there because you are there because it is a reward for winning a championship.”

The PBA All-Star Weekend will take place from August 4 to 7 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with the All-Star Game happening on August 7.

Last year, the All-Star Weekend took place in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. – Rappler.com