Yeng Guiao, the fiery Rain or Shine coach, was one of those PBA personalities who didn’t get lucky in the last elections, losing in his bid for a second term as Representative of the First District of Pampanga.
Vergel Meneses, the all-time great nicknamed “The Aerial Voyager,” also lost in the vice mayoral race in Bocaue, Bulacan.
There were a lot of pro basketball figures who dipped their hands in the last elections, and the biggest winner was obviously Manny Pacquiao, who used all of his past exploits in the boxing ring to win a seat in the Senate.
The country just hopes that “The Pacman” takes this new undertaking seriously, that he employs all the right people to be able to come up with the right laws to make and not be just a figure in the Upper House.
Pacquiao, who is listed as the official head coach of the Mahindra Enforcers, attended just four sessions in his first term as Congressman of Saranggani province.
It wasn’t something pretty to look at by any means and this country hopes that he finds time to attend to his duties in the Senate this time.
Guiao looked and sounded very much at ease even after losing to Carmelo Lazatin last Monday. He lost by a reported 30,000-plus votes, a huge margin considering that it was for a local seat.
“It’s past me now,” Guiao told arabnews.com in a phone interview on Thursday afternoon, just hours after he had wrapped up practice for his Elasto Painters crew that will be shooting to sweep Alaska in their Commissioner’s Cup title series on Friday night.
“My family has actually been looking forward to this,” Guiao said as he started life not being a public servant for the first time in 15 years. “Maybe this will be good for my mental health, my physical health and my family life.”
“I haven’t had this kind of time to spend with them for the past 15 years, and this comes as a welcome break.”
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Guiao wants to be called “Coach Yeng” again from now on as he tries to steer the Painters to just their second league title and complete a sweep of a title series for the second time in his career.
In 1990, with a super import named Tony Harris, Guiao and Swift ran roughshod over Dell Demps and the 7-Up Uncolas, 4-0, to immortalize their first franchise championship and belong to a roster of elite champions.
Guiao now has a lot of time to again handle the Elasto Painters, a team so deep that they can rival the traditional powerhouses in the league like Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer.
In fact, should the Painters go on to rule this conference, they would have gone through the veritable rock-solid franchises after having taken down Ginebra in the quarterfinals via a two-game sweep, and the Beermen, 3-1, in the Final Four.
Alaska is the only other team standing in the way and the Aces have had the distinction of being the most disciplined in the league with a roster that is loaded with a lot of talent.
So winning this tournament would certainly appease some of the pain Guiao felt when he lost in the last elections, whether he admits it or not.
And besides, coaching is really his first love.
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“I’m not shutting the door,” Guiao said when asked if he would mount a comeback in three years and shoot for a seat in Congress, or a different position, again. “I can’t say yes, and I can’t say no.
“There a still a lot of things to be considered, a lot of things to be studied – post-campaign,” the 57-year-old Guiao continued. “We (political team) will try to evaluate what went wrong and if we can come up with the logistics to run for office again.”
Guiao started out as a board member of Pampanga before being vice governor for three terms and then winning the congressional seat three years ago.
He said he will have no problems going back to civilian life and to being “Coach Yeng” again because he has never abused the powers that usually blanket politicians while he was still in office.
“I’ve always tried to keep a normal life. I never had bodyguards,” Guiao narrated. “I don’t even use the No. 8 plates (allotted for vehicles of Congressmen) and never used the privileges of a politician.”
A winner of six titles in the PBA, Guiao is proud of the fact that he was able to juggle political and coaching duties well in those 15 years, and that he has a solid shot at winning another championship for the Rain or Shine franchise.
“Being a coach and a politician are two of the most stressful jobs in the world,” he went on. “I felt like I was a candle that was lit on both ends during those years. But it was worth it, all of it, because I was just happy to serve.”
Guiao has had a colorful career as a PBA coach. There were times when his teams were truly down in the doldrums and that he worked so hard to get those teams to bounce back and win.
He has won championships with most of the teams that he has handled and commands respect in the league like no other.
And a man like Guiao will never stop working to be better at his craft and it would be safe to assume that he will back in the political arena before we all know it.
Vergel Meneses, the all-time great nicknamed “The Aerial Voyager,” also lost in the vice mayoral race in Bocaue, Bulacan.
There were a lot of pro basketball figures who dipped their hands in the last elections, and the biggest winner was obviously Manny Pacquiao, who used all of his past exploits in the boxing ring to win a seat in the Senate.
The country just hopes that “The Pacman” takes this new undertaking seriously, that he employs all the right people to be able to come up with the right laws to make and not be just a figure in the Upper House.
Pacquiao, who is listed as the official head coach of the Mahindra Enforcers, attended just four sessions in his first term as Congressman of Saranggani province.
It wasn’t something pretty to look at by any means and this country hopes that he finds time to attend to his duties in the Senate this time.
Guiao looked and sounded very much at ease even after losing to Carmelo Lazatin last Monday. He lost by a reported 30,000-plus votes, a huge margin considering that it was for a local seat.
“It’s past me now,” Guiao told arabnews.com in a phone interview on Thursday afternoon, just hours after he had wrapped up practice for his Elasto Painters crew that will be shooting to sweep Alaska in their Commissioner’s Cup title series on Friday night.
“My family has actually been looking forward to this,” Guiao said as he started life not being a public servant for the first time in 15 years. “Maybe this will be good for my mental health, my physical health and my family life.”
“I haven’t had this kind of time to spend with them for the past 15 years, and this comes as a welcome break.”
****
Guiao wants to be called “Coach Yeng” again from now on as he tries to steer the Painters to just their second league title and complete a sweep of a title series for the second time in his career.
In 1990, with a super import named Tony Harris, Guiao and Swift ran roughshod over Dell Demps and the 7-Up Uncolas, 4-0, to immortalize their first franchise championship and belong to a roster of elite champions.
Guiao now has a lot of time to again handle the Elasto Painters, a team so deep that they can rival the traditional powerhouses in the league like Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer.
In fact, should the Painters go on to rule this conference, they would have gone through the veritable rock-solid franchises after having taken down Ginebra in the quarterfinals via a two-game sweep, and the Beermen, 3-1, in the Final Four.
Alaska is the only other team standing in the way and the Aces have had the distinction of being the most disciplined in the league with a roster that is loaded with a lot of talent.
So winning this tournament would certainly appease some of the pain Guiao felt when he lost in the last elections, whether he admits it or not.
And besides, coaching is really his first love.
*****
“I’m not shutting the door,” Guiao said when asked if he would mount a comeback in three years and shoot for a seat in Congress, or a different position, again. “I can’t say yes, and I can’t say no.
“There a still a lot of things to be considered, a lot of things to be studied – post-campaign,” the 57-year-old Guiao continued. “We (political team) will try to evaluate what went wrong and if we can come up with the logistics to run for office again.”
Guiao started out as a board member of Pampanga before being vice governor for three terms and then winning the congressional seat three years ago.
He said he will have no problems going back to civilian life and to being “Coach Yeng” again because he has never abused the powers that usually blanket politicians while he was still in office.
“I’ve always tried to keep a normal life. I never had bodyguards,” Guiao narrated. “I don’t even use the No. 8 plates (allotted for vehicles of Congressmen) and never used the privileges of a politician.”
A winner of six titles in the PBA, Guiao is proud of the fact that he was able to juggle political and coaching duties well in those 15 years, and that he has a solid shot at winning another championship for the Rain or Shine franchise.
“Being a coach and a politician are two of the most stressful jobs in the world,” he went on. “I felt like I was a candle that was lit on both ends during those years. But it was worth it, all of it, because I was just happy to serve.”
Guiao has had a colorful career as a PBA coach. There were times when his teams were truly down in the doldrums and that he worked so hard to get those teams to bounce back and win.
He has won championships with most of the teams that he has handled and commands respect in the league like no other.
And a man like Guiao will never stop working to be better at his craft and it would be safe to assume that he will back in the political arena before we all know it.
