When Rain or Shine battles TNT on Wednesday’s no tomorrow encounter, the Elasto Painters play with a chip on their shoulders as they try to become the latest independent team to make it all the way to the Final Four.
But they also have an opportunity of making a deep run to the playoffs since being handled in their first full season by returning coach Yeng Guiao.
The coach who led the Elasto Painters to their two championships in their franchise history was also the last mentor who steered Rain or Shine as the last independent squad to win a PBA title.
But making a deep run nor making it back to the championship round will not be the focus of Guiao and co. at this time as they have a more pressing matters to deal with and that is to win against TNT for the second straight time to secure a Final Four berth in the season-ending conference.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with the winner joining the Barangay Ginebra and Meralco in the semifinal round.
Also disputing the other semis seat are San Miguel Beer and Terrafirma, which battle it out at 4:30 p.m.
Guiao and his young crew are looking to make their own mark and hope to relive the legacy of the franchise as one of the most consistent playoff performers the last 12 years.
Under the guidance of the seven-time champion coach, the Elasto Painters had made a good run of reaching the playoffs 13 of the 15 conferences from the 2011-2012 Philippine Cup all the way to the 2016 Governors’ Cup.
Those runs included two championships, four finals stints, six semifinals appearances and a quarterfinals run.
When Guiao returned midway of last season as coach of the Elasto Painters, he was able to pilot his team to two playoff runs in three conferences.
This conference, Guiao will have an opportunity to take the Elasto Painters to the next level and hope that this new breed of young players can make their mark.
