Guiao batting for early Season 51 start

Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao added to the clamor for an earlier adjustment to the 7 March opening of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 51.

The Elasto Painters, along with other teams already eliminated in the ongoing Season 50 Governors’ Cup, face months of inactivity until the next competition.

Guiao is crossing his fingers that league officials will reconsider their plans if still possible.

“We would like that (shorter break in between seasons) also. However, we don’t know how Commissioner (Willie Marcial) will make that work or if there’s a chance. It’s up to the PBA,” Guiao said after the Elasto Painters were shown the exit door by Converge in Game 4 of the best-of-five quarterfinals series last Friday.

“But I’m sure it’s everybody’s preference to start as early as possible,” he added.

In the season-ending Governors’ Cup alone, the league already had a nearly two-month break to loan its players to Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and the ill-fated gold medal defense in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The PBA will also halt hostilities after Tuesday’s do-or-die quarters match between Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer for the FIBA Qualifiers window.

Action resumes with the best-of-five semifinals on 4 December.

Rain or Shine, along with Phoenix, Magnolia and the loser of the Kings-Beermen series, are actually lucky to have just four months of hiatus.

Those who missed the playoffs: Terrafirma, Blackwater, Meralco and Titan Ultra, will have a lengthier shutdown of at least five months.

“That’s tough. You’ll be resting for four to five months and you’ll just spend those months just practicing,” Guiao said.