By REYNALD MAGALLON
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao believes that the brutal and tiring schedule of the 42nd William Jones Cup comes with a great benefit especially for a team like the Elasto Painters who are young but brimming with potential.
The Philippine representatives are set to play eight games in a nine-day span, including a stretch where they play six straight games – something that Guiao believes would only toughen up his wards.
“Medyo hindi tayo sanay sa gano’n, pero magandang ma-experience nila para lalo lang silang tumitibay. Pampatibay kasi ‘yon eh, ‘yung ganong international tournaments gano’n talaga,” said Guiao.
Addressing the concerns on the hectic schedule, Guiao wants to make sure that the minutes of his players are well managed to keep them fresh every game. Good thing, teams can change their 12-man lineup every game, giving Rain or Shine more flexibility in juggling the 15 players it brought in.
“Twelve to play lang every game so mabuti rin ‘yon kasi ‘yung ibang players natin, pwede nating i-rotate para makarest din sila,” shared Guiao.
“‘Yung one day break natin sa sunod- sunod na laro, parang kulang ‘yon eh. So at least mabigyan natin sila ng individual breaks. Pipillin na lang natin kung sino ‘yung ire-rest natin for a particular game,” he furthered.
More than the physical toll of the games, Guiao also sees the challenge as a test to his team’s mental fortitude and resilience, especially facing up against different kinds of teams every day.
“It’s a lesson in toughness, physical, mental toughness, being able also to adjust day to day dahil iba-iba ‘yung kinakalaban mo eh, hindi naman parehong style ‘yan o parehong sistema,” Guiao pointed out.
“So mati-test ‘yung resiliency ng mga players pati kami actually marami kaming natutunan ‘pag ganito sa international tournaments,” he added.
