RAIN or Shine looks forward to the long break in its PBA Philippine Cup campaign and allow its injured big men to heal from their respective injuries.
The Elasto Painters began the season-ending conference without a healthy frontcourt following the health issues to veteran Beau Belga (vertigo) and sophomore Keith Datu (strained calf).
It's a good thing that despite their absence, the team managed to even its first two outings, including a 113-96 win over Northport prior to the Holy Week break.
Rain or Shine won't be having its next outing until Aptil 27 against defending champion Meralco.
"We're hoping na ito medyo mahaba-haba yung bakasyon. (April) 27 pa yung next game namin or about 11 days (from the last game). We'll see kung kaya namin silang maibalik kahit isa lang sa kanila kasi mahirap mag-survive talaga masyadong maliit kami sa gitna," said coach Yeng Guiao.
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Against Northport, Rain or Shine was lucky enough that Batang Pier main man Arvin Tolentino was out with a hip flexor, allowing the Elasto Painters one less concern on the way to the 17-point victory.
But for how long the team can maintain it, Guiao doesn't think the Elasto Painters can hold on especially when ranged against bigger teams such as San Miguel.
"We can compete to a certain level siguro, pero kapag kalaban mo na yung San Miguel, yung mga may big men na kailangan mo ng pang matchup, pag yung mga Converge or Magnolia na may malalaki sila, mahihirapan talaga kami kung wala sila Beau, wala sila Keith," said the Rain or Shine coach.
"What we're trying to do now is to buy time for them."
In the absence of Datu and Belga, certain players are playing out of their respective positions such as rookie Caelan Tiongson and Santi Santillan.
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"That's a testament lang to how hard our bigs play," said Guiao.
Another big man in Luis Villegas is out for the rest of the season after undergoing a second ACL surgery. (RG)
