Guiao pleased with Luis Villegas' RoS comeback despite QF loss to Meralco: 'Great effort'

As far as his head coach is concerned, Luis Villegas made an impactful comeback for Rain or Shine.

Yeng Guiao was pleased with how Villegas fared despite the second-ranked Elasto Painters 79-96 loss to seventh-ranked Meralco in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao Saturday, Dec. 27.

“Great effort. It’s just his first game [back]. They were attacking him on the mismatches,” said Guiao after his twice-to-beat-armed squad got dragged to a rubber match set Monday, Dec. 29.

[RELATED STORY: Jansen Rios shines as Bolts force winner-take-all vs RoS in PBA QF: 'Locked in kami']

Villegas played sparingly for the last three seasons because of knee issues.

In his first game back, he went scoreless and produced just a rebound in nearly 17 minutes of play.

Still, Guiao was satisfied with his ward's effort on the defensive end.

“The situations where he got scored on were tough. He stayed in front of the ball, which was what I was asking. 'Just stay in front of the ball,'” said the outspoken mentor.

“I don’t mind you getting scored on just as long as you’re in front of the ball. That’s exactly what he did.”

[RELATED STORY: TNT holds off Magnolia, advances to PBA Philippine Cup semifinals]

Guiao believes that Villegas will play better in the winner-take-all match.

“Of course, mayroon pang paninibago. First game niya after a long time. He's still trying to get used to [sa] mga switching on defense. But he did a great job,” Guiao said.

“I’m not worried about him. Tingin ko, he’ll play a better game on Monday.”

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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.

He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.