Barako coaching staff resigns

Red Bull Barako team manager Tony Chua and the entire coaching staff, led by head coach Yeng Guiao, tendered a courtesy resignation to the team management last night following the team’s sorry exit in the Reinforced Conference that capped a season of failures for the Thunder in the PBA.

Chua and Guiao initiated the move as the two realized they failed to meet the expectation of the management in their fourth year of participation in the league.

The two have prepared a resignation letter to Photokina Marketing Corp. executive vice president George Chua. They have affixed their signatures and expected other team officials like assistant team manager Rudolf Hines, team consultant Andy Jao, assistant coaches Roehl Nadurata, Joshua Villapando, Alfredo Amador and trainers Kirk Collier and Reynaldo Emnas to do the same.

"It’s really difficult to arrive at this point but we feel the team needs a thorough reevaluation as to its performance (in the 2003 campaign)," Chua and Guiao said in the letter.

"This season proves to be a very competent and challenging one for us as determined by our standing in every conference. But due to some circumstances, we failed to evade collapse during the quarterfinals. That indeed is disheartening and painful.

"We realize we fail in our supposed roles to bring the team to greater heights. We also feel that we fail in our commitment to keep the company legacy of having one team with vision and action."

It was a painful season for the Thunder who dominated the eliminations of both the All-Filipino and the Reinforced Conferences only to be booted out in the quarterfinals.

Guiao and his boys were ousted by the Coca-Cola Tigers in the first conference and eased out by the Phone Pals in the second conference.

The Thunder bowed out in the All-Filipino after losing main men Davonn Harp and Jimwell Torion on alleged illegal drug use.

In the Reinforced Conference, the Thunder kissed their title hopes goodbye as they lost to the Phone Pals in a highly emotional sudden-death in their quarterfinal showdown Wednesday.

Red Bull Barako failed to make it past the quarters ironically after topping the eliminations with an awesome showing spiked by a franchise record run 10 straight victories.

Tony Chua said he joined the staff’s mass resignation because he felt he had his faults as the team leader.

"As commander in chief, mayroon din siguro tayong pagkukulang. So bahala na si Boss George," said Chua.