Rain or Shine picks up the lessons gained in its first five outings in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup to polish its game heading into the crucial stretch of the eliminations.

Head coach Yeng Guiao believes his squad has developed maturity and confidence following a four-game romp last month for a good year-ending run.

Rain or Shine returns to action on 8 January against Blackwater.

The Elasto Painters closed 2024 with consecutive triumphs over Hong Kong Eastern, defending champion San Miguel Beer before escaping Magnolia and winless but clingy Terrafirma.

Guiao was particularly happy with how his wards conducted themselves in their last two starts.

Rain or Shine used a telling 13-0 run to enable the squad to pull off a come-from-behind, 102-100, victory over the Hotshots last 18 December.

“Against Magnolia, we went up by double digits early, and then they went up by double digits, but we’re able to rally back. I saw that as a good sign. I saw that as a positive development,” Guiao said.

The Elasto Painters went up by 13 in the third but saw it disappear as they went down by 11 with six minutes left in the final period before unleashing the game-winning explosion.

“Instead of lashing at them for letting our big lead go to waste (I find it as a lesson). It happens in the PBA all the time, there is no weak team when you’re relaxed and not in a proper mental approach and focus,” the fiery mentor said.

In its final game of 2024, Rain or Shine had a hard time shaking off the Dyip before eventually walking away with a 124-112 victory.

“If we don’t start well, which we did not, they will hang on and keep threatening us which is exactly what happened. I already knew that this would happen if we didn’t pull away early,” Guiao said of the match against Terrafirma.

But the decorated tactician still commended his players for pulling through and avoiding an upset.

“At the same time, that kind of close game and you’re able to close it out the way we did, it’s still a great lesson. For us, it’s still a valued experience that we could use in the future,” he said.

The Elasto Painters could’ve completed a December sweep if not for a sorry loss to Meralco to open the mid-season conference.

“It’s just a shame that we had a chance (to win). The game was pretty even with us losing an import the same as them. It was a wasted opportunity for us but it’s OK now, it’s all in the past,” Guiao said.

“I’m still very happy with the way we performed in our first five games.”