Coach Yeng Guiao is running out of ways to end the NLEX Road Warriors’ losing skid that he is willing to do the ultimate sacrifice.
“Kulang na lang magpapako ako sa krus para mag-iba yung fortunes namin,” Guiao said after the Road Warriors’ 85-82 loss to the Globalport Batang Pier last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Guiao, obviously, was poking fun at his team’s winless start in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, using the Lenten season as reference. The Road Warriors are 0-6, the only team without a victory in the midseason conference.
What the bald-headed mentor can only hope is a resurrection, something he and the rest of the NLEX squad have been looking for since its last victory last Jan. 5 by way of an out-of-town win over the TNT KaTropa in Angeles City, Pampanga.
NLEX has lost 10 straight games, a skid that has marred Guiao’s first season following his departure from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. In the last three games, the Road Warriors have come so close to getting a victory, only to fall short in the end.
There was a 21-point comeback that went to waste after rookie Jio Jalalon scored a buzzer-beater that gave the Star Hotshots a 105-103 victory. Then, NLEX squandered a 29-point lead in losing 126-121 in overtime to TNT.
Against Globalport, NLEX weathered an ugly game and a 13-point deficit to tie the game in the final seconds. The Road Warriors lost in the end.