Yeng Guiao: ‘Pathetic’ Tim Cone should stop making excuses

AKTV/Paolo Papa

Prior to the start of the Governors’ Cup finals series between B-MEG and Rain or Shine, coaches Yeng Guiao and Tim Cone talked about how much they admired and respected each other.

After a heated Game One, a 91-80 victory for the Elasto Painters, all the civility went out the window.

With Cone complaining about the officiating because of the physicality of Rain or Shine, Guiao called his counterpart “pathetic” in an story by Nelson Beltran of the Philippine Star.

“Cone is literally asking the refs to help them out, and I think that’s pathetic,” he said.

In a followup interview with InterAKTV, Guiao said Cone is just making excuses for his team’s loss in the first game.

“To be beaten by a team with no superstars and receiving less money, owned by a small company and first-timers in the league, you will be annoyed with what happened in Game One,” said Guiao. Prior to the start of the series, none among the Elasto Painters had played in a PBA finals game. Guiao also noted the team’s pride in being part of one of the league’s smaller companies, in contrast to B-MEG, which is bankrolled by giant conglomerate San Miguel Corporation.

“First time ako nagkaroon ng kalaban na hinihingi yung tulong ng referee. In fact, yung ginagawa nga nya parang nagbigay pa siya ng threat sa liga na kung hindi babaguhin yung tawag, baka magkagulo,” said Guiao, referring to Cone’s comments after the game complaining about the officiating.

The American coach was ejected early in the fourth quarter for throwing a chair onto the court, leading to his banishment from the game.

“We knew it’s going to be like this, but I can only do so much. Players got frustrated with the way things were going on out there,” said Cone.

PBA commissioner Chito Salud admitted that there might have been missed calls by the officials, but said he was OK with the level of physicality allowed in the match.

“Obviously, there were clear fouls and violations that were not properly detected, but the level of physical contact that has been allowed and disallowed remains within the parameters set by the league,” he said.

Cone refused to react to Guiao’s comments.

“I don’t want to dwell on that,” he told InterAKTV. “Our focus is play hard in Game Two. Frankly, we cannot afford to spend time worrying about what happened in Game One. We need to take care of business in Game Two.”

Guiao, for his part, said his team won’t do anything different in Game Two.

“Wala na kaming dapat baguhin sa gagawin namin. We’re winning with the way we’re playing and we will still continue doing it in Game Two,” said Guiao.

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