THOUGHTS | CYG VERSUS AFC

So in the battle of debuting imports in the 2026 PBA Commissioner's Cup semis, Patrick Gardner did enough to help Meralco even the series despite the 24-point performance of Chris McCullough and the return of Jayson Castro to the TNT lineup.

But enough about that side.

Let’s move on to the spicier series.

In Game 4, Christian Manaytay and Mike Malonzo made a lot of things work as they helped Rain or Shine even its series against Barangay Ginebra.

That said, the real war happened on the sidelines, with Yeng Guiao and Alfrancis Chua exchanging words at the end of the match.

During Yeng Guiao’s post-game interview, a referee call prompted the Rain or Shine coach to tell Alfrancis Chua, the Ginebra team governor and SMC sports director, to stay in his lane. As a team executive, Guiao insisted that Chua should let his coaches do their thing and stop intimidating the referees.

Shots fired.

Chua then called Guiao “ulol” and, in a post-game interview of his own, asked the fiery Elasto Painters mentor to mind his own business.

Boom.

If the other series has import drama, this one is simply a battle of who can intimidate whom first. Chua is there trying to tilt the system in his team’s favor, while Guiao is there to stop him in his tracks.

But both men are alpha personalities. Chua was once a coach himself, while Guiao was once the PBA commissioner.

Talk about spicy.

Now, I think both sides have valid points here. With Guiao, he really can’t get too mad when he himself has done similar things in the past. That said, I don’t think Yeng Guiao was necessarily angry in this game. Actually, Yeng Guiao has been uncharacteristically “tame” this conference, perhaps because he understands that his team — mostly composed of players under 30 — is going up against a championship-driven squad that also happens to be the last team standing from the powerhouse SMC group. He was simply defending his side and refusing to let Chua intimidate him.

Over the years, we’ve seen Guiao go absolutely apeshit in far worse situations, like the infamous beef he had with Ivan Johnson.

As for Chua, I know he has had his own share of antics throughout the years, but there is no denying how passionate he is about the game. I also get where he’s coming from. Of course, Ginebra wants to win, and I don’t think anyone can keep him away from the court unless someone literally cuffs him to the bench.

I also believe he was simply doing what he does best — trying to tilt the tables in Ginebra’s favor by intimidating the hell out of the refs so they could pull away with the win. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, except that he happens to be going up against someone cut from the same cloth in Yeng Guiao.

Unless fists start flying, I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. Basketball is a physical and emotional sport, so outbursts are bound to happen.

Honestly, I’d rather write about this beef than the shallow stories people get weirdly excited about, like May-December affairs. I believe it’s nobody else’s business, and honestly, it feels even ickier seeing grown-ass men turn the PBA into showbiz gossip.

That said, the last notable time I can remember a team manager getting physically involved in the heat of the moment was when former DLSU team manager Manny Salgado slapped former FEU Tamaraw Arwind Santos on the head. It would have been equally bad if a coach had done it, but it’s also not a good look when a team manager is the one crossing the line. The move led to Salgado receiving a lifetime ban, and non-DLSU fans have since been asking why he did it in the first place.

Again, I understand both sides, and I actually like how PBA games go up another notch when the stakes get higher. While the TNT vs. Meralco series feels like a friendly battle between sister teams, the Ginebra vs. Rain or Shine matchup is turning into a full-blown dogfight.