After making it to the semis four consecutive times dating back to PBA Season 48, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters will surely be pegged as one of the favorites to make it at least to the top four of the upcoming Philippine Cup.
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao would sure love to make the semifinals again—and maybe even take a big, bold step forward. The fiery tactician, however, is wary about the now-tougher road to get back there after an offseason that saw teams seemingly getting better, whether through trades, free agent signings, or the draft. That’s on top of the league’s elite still boasting stacked lineups fully capable of winning the season-opening tourney of the PBA’s golden seaso
“Alam natin na yung mga malalakas na teams ay malalakas na. Eh yung mga nasa middle-tier, lalong lumakas,” Guiao told the PBA during the opening of the league’s annual Media Day held at Centris Elements in Quezon City on Thursday.
Which Teams Are Which?
The strong teams Yeng Guiao is referring to are likely the usual contenders—the San Miguel Beermen and TNT Tropang 5G, who together won the three championships at stake in Season 49, and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, who finished runner-up in the first two conferences and made it to the semis in the season-ending tourney.
All three teams have retained their core and added potentially solid rookies, so they’re likely to remain title favorites heading into the PBA’s golden season. But they can expect the other teams—the “middle-tier” squads, according to Guiao—to make things tougher for the league’s elite.
Among those teams are the Converge FiberXers, an up-and-coming squad that got a whole lot better in the offseason after resigning Schonny Winston and adding Larry Muyang via trade and the dynamic Juan Gomez de Liaño through the draft. They’ll be joining an already talented core of Winston, Alec Stockton, Justin Arana, and Justine Baltazar, who together form a foursome that’s among the PBA’s best.
The Magnolia Hotshots with new coach LA Tenorio appear to have gotten better as well, resigning new main man Zavier Lucero, flipping guard Jerrick Ahanmisi for Javi Gomez de Liaño, and adding Yukien Andrade via draft. Expect the Meralco Bolts to be better, too, with the return to health of gunner Allein Maliksi and the addition of highly touted point guard Jason Brickman, whom the Bolts selected as the seventh overall pick in the PBA Season 50 Draft.
Yeng Guiao Hopeful Rain or Shine Steps Up to the Challenge
While Yeng Guiao recognizes the tougher road ahead, he nonetheless relishes the “beauty of the journey,” noting that going up against strong teams is part of the journey to “get to that level.”
“Mas mahirap talaga na makabalik ka ng kahit sa semifinals lang, and we recognize that. But that’s the beauty of the journey and the challenge na you get to that level hindi dahil humina yung team. Lumakas yung mga teams, so kailangan mo gumawa ng paraan para mag-improve ka,” added Guiao, who is also quite confident that the Elasto Painters will rise to the challenge thanks to offseason acquisition Stanley Pringle, improvements from within, and players—Luis Villegas, notably, and Beau Belga—finally getting healthy.
“That’s what we did by beefing our team with getting Stanley, getting our injured players back 100 percent, getting to know our system better. Eh yung ibang teams, mga game-changer dinagdag nila, mga masasabi natin na high-impact players, so we have to step up to the challenge.”
Of course, if there’s anything the PBA and its fans have learned from any Yeng Guiao-led squad, it’s that it will do whatever it takes to overcome any and all adversity. And with a talented young core led by Adrian Nocum, Santi Santillan, Jhonard Clarito, and Gian Mamuyac, alongside veterans like Pringle, Belga, and Gabe Norwood, don’t be surprised if Rain or Shine makes it to the semis a fifth straight time—and possibly even the Finals.
