By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao is hoping to unearth more gems in his team’s big haul in the 2025 PBA rookie draft.
The Elasto Painters drafted a total of eight players in the rookie draft led by their two first-round picks in Christian Manaytay at 10th overall and June Roque at 12th.
ROS had three second-rounders in Mark Omega, Deo Cuajao, Joshua David while it had Cole Micek, Kyle Tolentino and MJ Dela Virgen in the third, fourth and fifth rounds respectively.
“We just wanted to take advantage of the situation. Meron kaming dalawang first round meron kaming tatlo first round and we would like to see how they fare in practices,“ said Guiao who is known for developing players that are rough around the edges into a shining diamond for his team.
And the draftees need not to look too far away to know that as some of the key players in the current ROS lineup were all picked in the second or later rounds. Andrei Caracut, Anton Asistio, Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito were all drafted in the second round.
All they need is to prove their worth especially with the limited slots remaining with the team.
“There are very few slots available sa team namin pero titingnan din namin because di mo alam, you might get surprised by any of these guys,“ Guiao said of their picks.
“Sa tingin ko wala tayong yung mga superstars na ready-made na magkakaroon ng immediate impact pero I feel the potential of these guys is on the high side. Iyong difference nung early picks sa late picks hindi ganoong kalaki so parang tyambahan lang rin,“ he added.
“Baka meron kang makita diyan na magiging Jhonard Clarito o magiging Adrian Nocum. All teams including us, we are always looking at those finds,“ said Guiao.
The veteran mentor said they will take a closer look at their rookies in practice before making a decision.
“It’s an opportunity to draft these guys see them in practice and make a decision ganun lang naman iyon kung isisign up niyo sila o hindi. Maybe there’s one or two of the rookies we drafted who could fit into the team.
