Top guard Rey Nambatac isn’t going anywhere, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said on Sunday.
Guiao told DAILY TRIBUNE that it is but natural that a player of Nambatac’s skillset is attracting suitors but the outspoken mentor insists the squad is not letting him go as they are bracing for the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup which comes off the wraps on 28 February.
“It’s normal, especially in Rey’s stature,” said Guiao in a telephone interview. “A team would show interest in him and they would ask us if we want to get anything or anyone from their squad.”
“But for Rey’s peace of mind, we’re not trading him. There are neither negotiations nor discussions of a trade.”
Instead, Guiao is more focused on trying to pick up from where they left off in the latter part of the Commissioner’s Cup where the Elasto Painters won six straight games.
Rain or Shine stared with a 0-5 win-loss record but racked up six wins in a row, enough to get the team to the playoffs.
“We’re trying to build on that good run. We had a six-game winning run, but unfortunately, we faced a powerhouse team in San Miguel in the quarterfinals, that’s why we didn’t make a deep run to the playoffs.”
“Had our import (Tree Treadwell) arrived earlier, we could have gone deeper to the playoffs.”
But in the coming Philippine Cup, Guiao has a better reason to be excited about as he can now utilize both his two first-round picks in the league’s most prestigious conference with Luis Villegas joining the Elasto Painters for the first time since getting drafted by the squad late last year.
Villegas, selected third overall in the Draft, will join hands with fellow newcomer Keith Datu, picked No.4 in the annual festivities.
Datu, a 6-foot-8 center, emerged as among the most consistent newcomers in the Commissioner’s Cup, averaging 11.17 points and 5.83 rebounds.
Guiao is hoping that Villegas, who’s on his way to full recovery after being sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury last year while playing for University of the East in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, will make similar huge impact in the squad.
“We’re upbeat about our chances of making a deep run following our good showing in the latter part of the Commissioner’s Cup and we’re going to have a key addition in Luis Villegas,” Guiao said.
“He will not be able to make it in the opening of the new conference, but we expect him to pay for us after our first game,” Guiao added. “We’re excited that we are now beginning to bring in the pieces that we lacked. We worked on this for about a year.”
