CHEMISTRY, CHECK
The excitement for Rain or Shine in the PBA Governors’ Cup has been palpable, and Yeng Guiao, the club’s fiery mentor who has reined in his enthusiasm over his charges all conference long, has finally bought into the hype.
“I’m really happy that I’m coaching Rain or Shine at this point,” he said late Monday night, on the heels of a low-stakes loss to Blackwater at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“We’ve put together a competitive team, and we’ve formed camaraderie. And you can feel that togetherness,” he went on. “And that’s one big part of a championship team. That’s a building block. If you want to win a championship, it has to start with being together, having the right chemistry.”
The ElastoPainters, a crew that has prided itself on building a roster through player development, finished atop Group B with a 7-3 (win-loss) record. They would’ve finished with a better record if not for San Miguel Beer’s escape act on a June Mar Fajardo game-winning heave and that night’s balancing act between staying healthy and calibrating for the playoffs.
12 years ago
Throughout the elimination phase, Rain or Shine also showed that it is rich with talent. There were victories where young players Jhonard Clarito, Adrian Nocum and even rookies Felix Lemmetti and Caelan Tiongson starred for the club. Veteran Beau Belga also stepped up big at one point, leading the way in avenging their narrow loss to the Beermen in the return match.
Belga and now the team’s playing assistant coach Gabe Norwood both told the Inquirer that this edition of the ElastoPainters was somehow similar to how the squad was nearly 12 years ago—the same year the franchise clinched its first PBA crown.
And Guiao’s validation finally came that Monday, the same night Rain or Shine finally learned which team it was going to play in a best-of-five series in the crossover quarterfinals.
“To me, this is a good sign,” he admitted. “We may be moving towards that direction (of a championship), finally.”
“I feel like our players somehow overachieved. But we’re not satisfied with that. We will be coming into the quarterfinals hungry, and that should be the case (for anybody)—that you are ready to battle, because Magnolia’s a very experienced playoff team.”
Magnolia, a team that has been trying to get over the hump since winning the 2018 Governors’ Cup, recently changed its import, which negates whatever scouting report Rain or Shine wrote up.
And that’s what Guiao hopes to address ahead of Game 1 set 7:30 p.m. at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“I saw their import and I feel like he wasn’t playing his real game. He might have been holding back or he may need a few more practice sessions [to blend with the team],” he said of Hotshots replacement Rayvonte Rice, who just had five points in the loss to Converge earlier that night.
“We’re expecting a lot from that import, because we’ve seen his video, his tapes. I watched them for an hour and he wasn’t missing shots. … You could see he was really skilled. And we’ll be ready for that,” Guiao said.
Meanwhile, defending champion TNT battles sister team NLEX in the curtain raiser that tips off at 5 p.m.
“Our offensive efficiency has to pick up for the playoffs while at the same time keeping our defensive intensity. I think that’s very important. Our defense is what has carried us through when our offense has been struggling, so we have to maintain that and improve on the offense,” said Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes.
“One thing is for sure: What got us here won’t get us to the next level. So we have to now focus on getting to the next level if we want to go deep in these playoffs,” Reyes added.
Meanwhile, San Miguel has activated Simon Enciso and has reportedly brought in import EJ Anosike for high-scoring import Jordan Adams.
