But he noted that every so often something special just bursts in any field, and in the case of the PBA at this time, that something special could be their stirring conquest of the highly-fancied Beermen in their title showdown.
Only a year and a few months into the league and the Thunder have assured themselves a place in PBA history that will never be taken away from them as they captured the Commissioner’s Cup crown before a bewildered throng at the Araneta Coliseum Friday.
"Mahirap ipaliwanag kung ano ang nangyari. It’s a confluence of things. Parang lahat ng probabilities nagsama-sama. There’s some degrees of luck. Something special happened," said Guiao.
It’s no secret that Guiao himself built his team from scratch but he’s not taking the credit all to himself as the Thunder quickly made their mark in the league. For the record, Red Bull became the fastest team to win a crown in the league outside of Toyota and Crispa which reigned supreme in the league’s maiden season in 1975. While Red Bull won its first crown in five conferences, Purefoods and Swift got theirs in nine conferences, San Miguel in 14, Shell 16, Alaska 18, Ginebra 23 and Tanduay 33.
"It helps if you have foresight, may knowledge ka sa talent ng players. Pero talagang may swerteng team. In our case, something special talaga. Nag-fit lahat, we’ve got the right players for the right coaching staff and for the right management," said Guiao, who won his first crown after guiding Swift to two championships in the early 90s.
More than the desire, Guiao thought it’s his players’ courage that became the No. 1 factor in their triumph.
"I do believe it’s courage more than the desire, and this gave me more satisfaction and more pride in my boys because that’s something I didn’t teach them. It’s in their character," Guiao said.
The Thunder, no question, showed great class and character, and somehow broke a standard as they outdid themselves and went on to reward themselves with the ultimate glory in the league.
As one team manager put it: "Red Bull proved one thing – you can win a championship even without those pampered maximum-paid players. This team may become a good example to the other teams."
"Isa pang nakakataba ng puso is that fact that we don’t have that big budget compared to the other teams in terms of payroll," said Guiao although he refused to reveal the figures of their players’ paychecks.
However, it’s open knowledge that Ato Agustin is already Red Bull’s highest-paid player, receiving a monthly pay of only around P350,000. Practically all the other teams have players getting the maximum pay of P500,000, including San Miguel's Danny Ildefonso, Pop Cola's Johnny Abarrientos, Sta. Lucia's Marlou Aquino, Purefoods' Alvin Patrimonio, Ginebra's Jun Limpot and Vergel Meneses, Alaska Kenneth Duremdes, Mobiline Vic Pablo, Shell Chris Jackson and Tanduay Eric Menk and Jeffrey Cariaso.
Thus, if the other teams are in a fix insofar as making it to the P36-million salary cap is concerned, Red Bull is enjoying all the leeway, having more than enough breathing room. But of course, it would already be a different story as soon as the key players of the team sign up new contracts.
With the championship, Guiao expected his players to become stronger persons – mentally, that is – thus, he also sees good prospect for his team in the third conference. He said: "Winning a championship makes a player a different person. Magkakaroon na ng konting yabang at iba na ang tapang. You’ve been there before, so alam mo na kung paano pumunta doon."
Guiao, however, believes San Miguel will still be the team to beat as the Beermen defend their Governors Cup crown. He said: "The San Miguel dynasty isn’t over yet. I’m sure they will come back strong in the third conference. Kami naman, we still have a lot to prove since we’ve just won one championship so far."