PBA: Guiao defends Kiefer
Published Jan 9, 2018 12:00 pm

NLEX Head Coach Yeng Guiao (photo by Peter Paul Baltazar)
By Ernest Hernandez
In his first two games in the PBA Philippine Cup, Kiefer Ravena justified all the hype after averaging 19 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and three steals for the NLEX Road Warriors.
Unfortunately, Ravena went tumbling back to earth on his third outing. He managed only 8 points, shooting 31-percent from the field and issued just seven assists in a loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Also, Ravena missed two straight free throws as NLEX was on the comeback trail.
“I have no excuses for the game. I shot bad from the field. I felt didn’t help my team enough especially down the stretch and missed two straight free throws,” said Ravena.
“I tasted two wins and a loss in the PBA so buti na lang we learned from it. We have next week to bounce back. A string of heavy, heavy games with Magnolia and San Miguel consecutively. “
NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao was quick to defend Ravena's off night. He pointed out other factors that caused their loss against Phoenix.
“Not concerned about Kiefer's off-night. That is normal and natural for a player - especially a rookie. I don’t want to put any more pressure on him by putting those kinds of expectations, but we lost as a team,” said Guiao.
“Yung offensive rebounding, that was not Kiefer’s responsibility,” he pointed out.
Phoenix outrebounded NLEX in the offensive glass 10-19. This led to 22 second-chance points for the Fuel Masters.
The missed free throws of Ravena was not the story of the game for Guiao. Instead, team effort coming into the game was too relaxed, seemingly overconfident against their opponents.
“It is the team thing, and we have to take responsibility for that as a team. He missed two free throws, yeah. Juami (Tiongson) also missed two free throws during the last three or four minutes where we could have changed the complexion of the game. They are not poor free throw shooters and are very decent in the line,” said Guiao.
“Those things happen. But what can’t happen is for you to lose second-chance points and offensive rebounding by that big,” Guiao ended.