The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters may have suffered an early and unexpected exit in the PBA Philippine Cup at the hands of the Meralco Bolts, but Yeng Guiao is unfazed by it. In fact, he believes his team is still on the come-up despite twice losing to the Bolts after finishing in the top three in the elimination round.
For the fiery tactician, such setbacks are par for the course, especially for a team steadily finding its place among the league’s elite.
“The more important thing to me is the team remains competitive. Its potential and upside are very bright,” Guiao told the PBA recently. “We prefer to look at it as, along the way, there are going to be some trials, tribulations, and some obstacles.”
Undermanned but Tough as Nails
Indeed, Rain or Shine was competitive all conference long, compiling an impressive 8–3 record despite key players Stanley Pringle and Caelan Tiongson both missing four games and center Keith Datu suffering a season-ending injury early.
Other teams would have folded after losing three key rotation pieces. Not Rain or Shine. Instead of mailing it in, the Elasto Painters proved to be among the PBA’s toughest outs thanks to a combination of offensive explosiveness, grit, and tenacity that allowed them to notch impressive wins against contenders TNT Tropang 5G, Magnolia Hotshots, and Converge FiberXers.
Rain or Shine Is Disappointed but Looking Ahead
That said, Guiao clarified he was far from satisfied with how Rain or Shine’s conference ended. But rather than let this shock exit eat away at them, the Elasto Painters are instead looking at the bright side and taking their elimination as a step back for a possible big leap next.
“’Yung trend namin, ‘yung direction namin is still going up. Mataas pa rin naman,” Guiao reiterated. “That’s part of basketball. Parang may dip lang ’yan. We’re trending up. But when you trend up, there’s going to be some dips along the way. But after that, you’re still going to trend up. And that’s still a good situation for us.”
Indeed, there’s reason to be optimistic. Caelan Tiongson has emerged as a two-way force, Adrian Nocum is fast becoming a rising star, and Gian Mamuyac is starting to become a do-it-all playmaker. Mike Malonzo has turned out to be a pleasant surprise, and Luis Villegas appears to be fully healthy finally.
Five straight semifinals berths and nearly another one this conference are certainly signs of a team trending up. Now, all that’s left is for Rain or Shine to take the next step forward.
