The last time a team coached by Yeng Guiao played Smart Gilas in a PBA tournament, back in the 2009-2010 Philippine Cup, Air 21 point guard Wynne Arboleda ended up assaulting a Gilas fan at courtside in a very ugly incident in a rough-and-tumble game. So when Guiao’s new team, Rain or Shine, faced off against the Gilas squad last Sunday, many fans were also expecting fireworks.

It didn’t come as much of a surprise that Rain or Shine’s Ryan Araña, a hardnosed guard, was somehow involved in the hostilities. During his college days at La Salle, Ateneo coach Norman Black compared Araña favorably to Ginebra icon Robert Jaworski. Explicitly, the multi-titled mentor was talking about the former Archer’s toughness, but people who followed the game closely picked up on the hint that the parallels between the two players extended to their rough, even dirty, playing style.

Araña was involved in a scuffle against naturalized center Marcus Douthit, who claims that he was hit in the groin. Later, Araña was called for a double-technical with Gilas guard Chris Lutz.

“Lutz was trash-talking with Ronjay (Buenafe) and our bench,” Araña later told Snow Badua. “Ako lang ang gumanti.”

The RoS guard added that the incident started because Lutz dissed Guiao. “Binabastos niya si Coach Yeng,” he said. “Siyempre, babanat kami, pero ‘di ako nagsimula nun. Saka ‘di ko gagawin yun, mahirap ma-suspend.”

Another source from the Elastopainters chimed in, telling Badua, “Niyabangan at ni-trash talk ni Lutz ang bench namin. Pati si Coach Yeng, binastos. Pinapasampolan nga siya. Buti nga, ‘di na siya binalik.”

But a source who attended the game paints quite a different picture. “During the game, in the first half alone, Araña would throw elbows at Douthit whenever he cut in front of the big guy,” he wrote in an email. “Worse, before the first half ended, he threw a low blow to Marcus which the refs finally caught, although they only called a personal foul.”

The source also wrote that it wasn’t Chris Lutz who started thing with the Rain or Shine bench. “Minumura siya nina Araña at Buenafe during the game,” he continued. “I think when Larry Rodriguez was called for an illegal screen in the third quarter, Lutz started clapping as he was running back on offense. That’s what escalated things even more, as they cursed him more. Si Araña raw, lumapit sa bench ng Gilas and according to those sitting behind Lutz, even five rows back, sabi kay Lutz, ‘Fuck you Chris Lutz, I’m waiting for you inside!’ Tapos binalikan pa after, kaya na-double technical sila.”

Then again, the stuff that happened last Friday are probably no longer in the minds of Guiao or the rest of the Rain or Shine squad, as they have now dropped three straight losses after posting three wins to open their Commissioner’s Cup campaign. But if Smart Gilas and Rain or Shine do end up meeting in the playoffs… boy, that would be something, wouldn’t it?