Serious, fun opening to RP team training camp

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Coach Yeng Guiao meets with Team Pilipinas for the first time in practice on Monday at The Arena in San Juan

MANILA, Philippines – Yeng Guiao set the perfect mood to get his players pumped up for a serious task at hand.

He let them have fun and play loose.

For the first time in a scrimmage environment, the RP team coach met on Monday 12 of the 14 players he will take to the Fiba-Asia Championships next year in Guangzhou, China.

Typical of any Day One atmosphere in previous national training camps, Guiao and his players spent more time bonding and building some chemistry than running through X’s and O’s and triangles and zones.

“Everything’s gonna be light. We’re not gonna burn you out. We’re not gonna overextend you, guys. We just wanna be able to practice the skills that you’ll need in order to execute our offense,” Guiao told his players at The Arena in San Juan.

First-time RP pool members Cyrus Baguio, Jared Dillinger, Willie Miller, Ryan Reyes, Arwind Santos, and Sonny Thoss joined veterans Ranidel de Ocampo, Jayjay Helterbrand, Gabe Norwood, Mick Pennisi, Kerby Raymundo, and Asi Taulava in the opening of camp.

James Yap, who was under the weather, was on the bench and did not participate in the drills. Kelly Williams was nursing an eye injury and did not attend.

“We’ll just be breaking the ice, just make us be familiar with each other,” Guiao said.

The one-hour session looked more like a playground gig, but Guiao used the moment to profile his players’ strengths and weaknesses.

He urged Taulava to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket. He approved of Helterbrand’s fancy shake-and-bake in one instance before he pulled up for a 16-footer. He liked the times Thoss played the one-on-one game, a huge departure from his pinch-post-passing role in Alaska’s triangle offense.

“For example, the big men will have to learn to shoot the ball from the elbow,” Guiao said. “We’ll also run a lot of pick-and-rolls and drive-and-kicks so the guards will have to hit it in a catch-and-shoot situation.”

Guiao gave his players pointers about the system he would like to use. When the timing was right, he spiked his instructions with punchlines.

In one instance where he tried to reach out to his players’ sense of motivation, he dropped a one-liner at Pennisi. “With your talent, guys, and with your intelligence - not you, Mick…”

Serious and fun was meshing seamlessly.

But the humor was just a way to get his message across to his men, a tactic wherein one doesn’t have to be a psychology major to realize its value.

Guiao may have been humoring the players. He may have been communicating his thoughts to individuals. But in the end, he was clearly addressing the team, the whole.

“Remember, in this team, there’s not one, two, or three guys that are gonna be responsible in winning games. We will not let one guy take over the game and ask him to carry this team on his shoulders and win the game for us,” Guiao said.

“Everybody’s responsible. Nobody has to score 30 points for this team to win. All you guys need to do is to take the open shots, look for your open teammates, ran the patterns, and make good decisions. That’s it. That’s how we’re gonna win.”