Yeng Guiao quits Gilas Pilipinas after winless FIBA World Cup stint

Yeng Guiao has resigned as Gilas Pilipinas coach after the national basketball team bowed out of the FIBA World Cup without a win.

Guiao's resignation was posted on the Facebook page of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas on Wednesday.

"In the light of all these developments, I am stepping down, as of today, as the Head Coach of the Gilas Men’s Basketball Team, in order to give the SBP a free hand in building and developing a program towards achieving our objective of competing with the best of the best," Guiao said in a statement.

"I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve our country through the sport we love most. Para sa bayan," he added.

In a statement, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio accepted Guiao's resignation "with a heavy heart" and thanked him for his contributions to the Gilas program.

"Coach Yeng had the enviable task of picking up the pieces for Gilas Pilipinas Men. While the odds were stacked against him, he boldly took on the challenge, displaying the Filipino's fighting spirit," Panlilio said.

Guiao replaced Chot Reyes as the head coach of the national team after the bench-clearing brawl against Australia in the third window of the World Cup qualifiers last year.

Reyes was suspended for one game, but Guiao held the position for the three remaining windows of the qualifiers and also coached the Jordan Clarkson-reinforced Gilas which finished fifth place in the Asian Games.

"I take pride in having taken over the Gilas Program at a point of crisis, where the team was decimated by the suspension of players and coaches after the Australian incident," Guiao said.

The coach said he views his tenure in a "positive light" after Gilas survived the qualifiers and made it to the World Cup as one of the 32 best teams in the world despite the challenges of a sudden restart.

Guiao, however, said he takes responsibility for the team's poor performance at the World Cup in China as Gilas finished dead last among the 32 teams.

"I am sorry we could not deliver a better performance. Our players gave their best against talented, bigger, stronger, and better prepared athletes from the best teams in the world," he said. —Marisse Panaligan/NB, GMA News