To the eyes of multi-titled coach Yeng Guiao, Elmer Yanga, a three-time PBA Executive of the Year, is more than just an amiable boss.
“He’s a father figure, treats every member of the team like a family and he’s very fair. Whenever you’re negotiating with contracts, you know hindi ka niya gugulangan,” Guiao told Pinoystep.com.
Guiao’s career grew from being a marginal player when he was still playing for RFM Corporation in the old Philippine Amateur Basketball League where he and team owner, Joey Concepcion, used to be teammates, all the way to the time he became an assistant coach and later on, as head coach, under the tutelage of Mr. Yanga.
“Mr. Yanga is not just a basketball executive. Sideline niya lang itong basketball,” added Guiao. “He runs the company like he was the general manager and he has a lot of work within the corporation, but it was in basketball that he finds true happiness.”
In the PBA, Guiao and Yanga brought contrasting dynamics which provided balance to Swift’s squad.
Guiao was known for his fiery personality while Yanga was regarded for his very cool demeanor.
“Ang meek ng personality niya, hindi mo nga halos nakikitang nagagalit yan, but if ever man makita mong magalit, parang hindi pa rin galit. Our contrasting personalities were like a perfect blend to provide balance at the sidelines,” said Guiao.
When RFM entered the PBA as an expansion franchise in 1990, it was Guiao who became the team’s first head coach for more than four years, leading the team to championships in the 1992 Third Conference and the 1993 Commissioner’s Cup before he moved on to coach Pepsi.
Swift switched its name to Sunkist and named Derick Pumaren as head coach, who also led the franchise to two titles, but even when they were at the opposing end, the close ties between Yanga and Guiao didn’t waver.
‘Our families were close. In fact, Mr. Yanga was closer to my dad because they also worked together before,” added Guiao. “Inaanak ko rin yung ibang mga anak niya. The close ties also led me to moving to where I am residing now (Valley Golf in Cainta) and we were close door neighbors. He was the one who convinced me to move in that subdivision.”
Guiao and his family were among those who paid their last visit to Yanga, who was still at the intensive care unit on Monday. The long-time executive died on Wednesday, May 1, at 3:40 p.m. after a bout with a lingering illness.
Boy Cabahug, who played for RFM in the defunct PABL during the late 1980s, would have been the team’s first round choice when it joined the PBA in 1990, but ‘The Hitman’ became a part of a bumper cast of rookies who entered the big league a year earlier.
Still, the Cebuano dead shot owed a big part of his basketball career to Mr. Yanga and RFM.
“He was my godfather to our wedding,” added Cabahug. “After sa Mama’s Love sa PABL, Swift was my second team. In fact, Ninong Elmer was instrumental why I was able to play in the PBA.”
Former PBA Most Valuable Player and now current Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, won his first two championships in the PBA with Sunkist, who drafted him in 1995. He was saddened by the passing of the man whom he considered ‘the best team manager ever.’
“Before PBA Rookie Draft (1995), kinausap ako ni Mr. Yanga, sabi niya kukunin nya ako sa Sunkist,” wrote Duremdes via Messenger. “He was the most respectful person I’ve ever met. He’s a very religious person and the best ever team manager.”
But all the love and respect didn’t only come from the RFM family.
Buddy Encarnado, a two-time PBA Executive of the Year and now general manager of the NCRAA, had nothing but respect and admiration to his long-time contemporary.
“He was a contemporary during the early formation of the PABL way back in 1983. Swift was his team, mine was ESQ Marketing,” wrote Encarnado via Messenger. “He’s very diplomatic and always calm under pressure. He’s always a fierce competitor, but we became good friends and even became kumpare even before we entered the PBA.”
“It’s so sad to hear of his passing. Hindi na matutuloy ang lunch date namin sa SM Mega Mall. I will miss him.”
Photos from PH Sports Bureau
