TIMEOUT OR NO TIMEOUT? COACH YENG SPEAKS OUT
For basketball coaches at any level, timeouts are normally called to break the momentum of an opponent making a big run. Others use it to give the players a short breather while last-second timeouts are for situational purposes.
But Yeng Guiao isn’t just your conventional coach.
Like Phil Jackson before with the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers, Guiao has this penchant for having it his way, normally allowing his players to solve the problems which they created instead of saving their butts.
“Siguro ugali ko na lang talaga. They know it. It’s not that my team gets surprised by that or they expect that I won’t call a timeout. Mentally, ready naman sila,” Guiao told pba.ph.
“Sometimes I will call a timeout, sometimes I won’t. Pero hindi ko naman naging practice yun sa mga ganoong sitwasyon.”
Basketball observers who regularly watch Rain or Shine play would notice Guiao’s unconventional ways of motivating his team. He wants his players to become tougher, smarter whenever they’re inside the court.
According to Guiao, not calling a timeout is simply not a fashion statement. It is also by design.
“Ang memory ko or recollection ko mataas naman yung winning percentage ko sa endgame even if I don’t call the timeouts. So I’m just looking at the numbers. Siguro kung panay akong natatalo, tatawag ako ng tatawag ng timeouts, pero nananalo naman eh,” Guiao explained.
Guiao isn’t the kind of coach who shows he’s panicking even when he sees his team losing big leads.
For the fiery mentor, he simply wants his players to toughen up under pressure.
“I’m just hard-headed siguro,” added Guiao. “I always tell my guys, don’t rely on me to save your ass by calling a timeout. Every time you’re in there, make the right decisions to play under pressure. Disregard any other outside forces. What is important really is what you can control inside the game. You cannot control when the coach calls a timeout.”
For Guiao, the rationale behind this is plain and simple.
“To toughen them up, that’s the purpose,” he said. “Wala silang lifeline kumbaga. Lifeline mo lang is sarili mo. Wala kang call a friend.” (RJ)
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