Yeng Guiao yesterday resigned as coach of Gilas Pilipinas following a disappointing run in the FIBA World Cup that saw the national cagers finish dead last by losing all five matches.
Guiao confirmed to the Bulletin the lengthy statement that surfaced online, a day after meeting top officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to discuss the aftermath of the winless showing in FIBA’s centerpiece event.
Hours before the announcement, Guiao told reporters after NLEX’s tune-up match against Magnolia that he had “initiated something” in his discussion with SBP officials led by Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan but begged off from admitted if he had tendered a courtesy resignation.
“In the light of all these developments, I am stepping down, as of today, as the Head Coach of the Gilas Men’s Basketball Team, in order to give the SBP a free hand in building and developing a program towards achieving our objective of competing with the best of the best,” Guiao said in a lengthy statement.
“I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve our country through the sport we love most,” he added.
Guiao took charge of the national team after the infamous brawl between Gilas and Australia in July 2018 prompted SBP to make significant changes. He began his tenure by steering the country to a fifth place in the Asian Games led by Fil-American NBA guard Jordan Clarkson.
The veteran mentor then steered Gilas to its second straight World Cup appearance after scoring important wins over Qatar and Kazakhstan on the road in the final window of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers last February.
He had hoped to make something positive in the World Cup, a stint he described as the “highlight of his coaching career.”
However, Gilas was beaten by a combined margin of 105 points against Serbia and Italy, lost a heartbreaking overtime match against Angola before absorbing two double-digit setbacks against Tunisia and Iran.
Amid calls from fans for his resignation, Guiao said before the tournament ended that he was ready for any possibilities upon returning home.
“I am truly blessed to have coached the best that Philippine Basketball has to offer and to have competed amongst the best in the world. I consider the past year, most especially our participation in the World Cup, as the highlight of my career,” Guiao said.
“Even if I had known from the beginning that this would be the end result of my decision to accept this coaching job, I would have had no second thoughts in making the same decision. I have no regrets in having taken the path I have taken in the past year; the only regret is that I would have wanted the team to have performed better on the world stage,” he added. (Jonas Terrado)