NLEX veteran coach Yeng Guiao affirmed that they will keep their core intact for the 46th PBA Philippine Cup, shying away from any possible trades during the offseason.
The Road Warriors are eyeing to bolster its young team with their No. 3 and No. 4 picks in the 2021 Draft which features one of the deepest pool of talents in recent league history.
“Ayaw namin entertain muna (We don't want to entertain for now)," said Guiao, also the general manager of the team, when asked about having trade talks.
The 61-year-old fiery mentor added that they will not trade away their precious first-round picks in the upcoming draft which boasts of prospects Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Santi Santillan, Jamie Malonzo and Troy Rike, among others.
"Malabo 'yun, hindi natin bibitawan first-round picks natin. Gusto kong i-preserve 'yung No. 3 and No. 4 picks namin (We'll not give up our first round picks. I want to preserve our No. 3 and No. 4 picks)."
Right before the conclusion of its Philippine Cup bubble campaign last year, NLEX signed its backcourt duo of Kiefer Ravena and Kevin Alas to maximum three-year extension contracts.
The Road Warriors also renewed the services of veterans JR Quiñahan and Jericho Cruz, vastly-improved forward Raul Soyud and other players in Mike Miranda, Kris Porter, Kenneth Ighalo, Philip Paniamogan, Paul Varilla, Will McAloney and Kyles Lao.
Three-point sniper Anthony Semerad and incoming sophomore Mike Ayonayon are still under contract.
Guiao said they will wait for the final list of draft applicants first including the Fil-foreigners before making up their mind on whom to spend their first-round selections.
The PBA extended the deadline for Fil-foreign standouts until March 5 after finding out 18 ineligible applicants among the record 97-man pool.
“After lumabas ng final list, we’ll make a decision. It’s useless to decide if madami pang uncertainties (After the final list comes out, we'll make a decision. It's useless to decided if there's still a lot of uncertainties)," said Guiao.
With a solid core and prospective rookies, Guiao will look to steer the Road Warrriors past the elimination round this time after bowing out early in the tightly-fought bubble conference.
NLEX almost made it to the playoffs of the last PH Cup after weaving a string of victories at the tailend of the eliminations only to fall short with a decent 5-6 record.