On Monday, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters will finally meet Caelan Tiongson, one of the team’s two first-round picks in the recent PBA Rookie Draft.
Head coach Yeng Guiao confirmed to Pinoystep.com that they will have an opportunity to talk to the 6-foot-5 Tiongson regarding his PBA plans.
Guiao denied that they’re having a hard time signing up Tiongson, fueling speculations that he’s being put on trading block, but the Elasto Painters will finally get their chance of meeting the said player, who just wrapped up playing for Strong Group in the William Jones Cup.
“He’s in Taiwan playing in the Jones Cup, that’s why we haven’t talked to him about playing for us,” said Guiao. “But we have no plans of trading him.”
Tiongson retired from playing in 2019 right after his stint with the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas in the Asean Basketball League, but decided to return and joined the Taoyuan Leopards.
His stint just recently in the Jones Cup will help him prepare for the coming PBA season.
Tiongson was selected seventh overall by Rain or Shine in the just-concluded PBA Rookie Draft.
The Elasto Painters used the No.8 pick to select Felix Lemetti, an NCAA Division 1 player, who saw action for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
If Rain or Shine has high regard on Tiongson’s capabilities of playing the small forward spot, Guiao looks forward on coaching another NCAA Division 1 player in Lemetti.
This is the third time in his coaching career at Rain or Shine that Guiao is going to handle another Division 1 player after Gabe Norwood (George Mason Patriots) and Mav Ahanmisi (Minnesota Gophers).
Guiao is impressed at the skill set of Tiongson and Lemetti, especially their shooting.
“With Tiongson, we now have a guaranteed additional talented player and then we took a gamble at Lemetti and we know our gamble is all worth it,” added Guiao. “We’ve seen him up close and personal even before the Rookie Draft as he worked out with us and we were impressed, not just of his shooting skills, but he is also a two-way player. This guy can also defend.”
Rain or Shine is confident to bring in these two rookies in the coming season.
With Tiongson, the Elasto Painters will have a solid small forward who can spread the floor, something which the team lacked last season as Luis Villegas, the team’s third overall pick last year, had yet to fully recover from his previous knee injury.
Villegas is expected to return this coming Governors’ Cup.
Lemetti, on the other hand, will bring in added stability in the guard position, a spot which Rey Nambatac vacated when he got traded to Blackwater.
“With Lemetti coming in, we need to tweak our guard rotation a little bit, but I’m sure we can divide the minutes among Andrei Caracut, Anton Asistio and Adrian Nocum.”
Rain or Shine co-owner Raymond Yu is happy with the newcomers the team had recently signed up. Aside from signing up Lemetti, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Elasto Painters, the team had also come to terms with Francis Escandor, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, who played a pivotal role in La Salle’s championship run in the UAAP last season.
“Happy ako kay Lemetti and Escandor,” wrote Yu in a text message. “I’ve seen them on videos, but when they went to the office to sign their contracts, I was surprised that they both have the size for their respective positions.”
