PBA Draft Focus: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Picks: (First Round) No. 3, No. 12; (Second Round) No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, No. 12
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao had talked about his team’s need for frontcourt help and a player who can “backstop” Gabe Norwood and Jireh Ibañes at the three spot.
Fortunately for Guiao, the Elasto Painters have six picks in the coming 2015 Gatorade PBA Rookie Draft where they could address their concerns.
The Painters will pick as high as No. 3 and Guiao is confident that he could still nab a “quality player” at that spot in a relatively solid class headed by Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario.
But both big men, projected as the top two picks, would likely be gone by the time Rain or Shine, which recently re-signed its sweet-shooting swingman Jeff Chan to a maximum three-year deal, selects.
After Tautuaa and Rosario, there are still a couple of big men left in the field that could reward Guiao’s innate trust and confidence in his players with quality minutes off the bench.
Norbert Torres and Bradwyn Guinto are both listed at 6-foot-6 and have the heft to get physical in the shaded area.
Torres won a UAAP championship with De La Salle University and was also part of the Gilas cadets team which won the gold in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore last June while also suiting up for Cebuana Lhuillier in the PBA D-League.
Guinto, on the other hand, is playing out his final year with San Sebastian in the NCAA. He has shown his effectiveness in the middle and his willingness to bang inside is a plus given how physical the PBA’s style of play is.
But going for either Torres or Guinto at No. 3 wouldn’t be the best choice for ROS considering the abundance of talent left in the draft with the likes of reigning MVP Scottie Thompson and Garvo Lanete still likely available.
And that’s where the Painters’ remaining five picks — assuming they decide to keep all — come into play.
After picking at No. 3, ROS selects again at No. 12 to end the first round where Guinto could still be available though Torres could be gone by that time.
Keith Agovida is another player Guiao could be looking at as someone who can play at the three spot. Agovida shone for the Arellano Chiefs last season in the NCAA where he helped the Chiefs make the finals.
Aside from choosing third and 12th in the opening round, ROS also picks 15th, 17th, 19th and 24th overall.
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