YENG Guiao returned to NLEX for the first time in close to three months, and aside from making the Road Warriors look like legitimate threats in the PBA Governors’ Cup, his coaching snapped the tournament’s longest winning streak and sent Blackwater crashing back down to Mother Earth.
With Larry Fonacier shooting the lights out from afar in the second half and the Road Warriors playing defense like there’s no tomorrow, NLEX tore Blackwater to shreds on Wednesday night, 124-106, to stay in the upper half of the elimination round standings at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win also sent the Elite to their first loss in five games, snapping the franchise’s best-ever conference start and knocking them out of the lead, which idle Phoenix Petroleum now holds.
“I was excited to coach, to get the feel of the PBA again,” said a smiling Guiao, who spent that period calling the shots for the Philippine Five in two international tournaments. “Madami ako natutunan (I learned a lot coaching internationally) and you want to apply what you learned (there).
“And it seemed to work,” he said.
Guiao’s game plan for the Elite was to make Blackwater import Henry Walker work for his points and take out the local support. The Road Warriors got it done, while also limiting Walker from dominating.
But the blowout win came because NLEX connected on 20 triples — six of them by Fonacier.
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