Guiao unearths unpolished gems

Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao is known for grinding gems in the rough into glittering jewels in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

His golden touch will be tested once again after selecting eight newbies in the Annual PBA Draft last Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

The Elasto Painters were very busy, drafting two first round picks before selecting three in the second round and three more in the succeeding rounds before calling it a day to enlist fresh and raw talents ahead of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup starting on 5 October.

“You might get surprised by any of these guys,” Guiao said.

Rain or Shine selected University of Santo Tomas product Christian Manaytay as 10th overall pick while closing out the first round with Letran College’s Arthur Roque as No. 12 overall.

Other former Knights Mark Omega (No. 20) and Vince Cuajao (No. 22) and De La Salle University alum Joshua David (No. 24) caught the eye of Guiao in the second round.

Cole Micek, who played for the Macau Black Bears, was picked in the third round at No. 34, Kyle Tolentino (No. 45) in the fourth before taking in MJ Dela Virgen as 55th overall in the fifth round.

“I think we do not have a ready-made superstar that will make an immediate impact but I feel the potential of these guys is on the high side,” the fiery mentor said.

Although unheralded and relatively unknown compared to early picks, Guiao likes the pieces he procured, knowing that each one will be hungry to prove their worth and show what they could bring to the table in the big league.

“We’re always looking for those finds and there’s an opportunity to draft these guys, see them in practice and make a decision.”

Guiao is looking to turn his picks into legitimate PBA materials just like what he did to the likes of Jhonard Clarito, Adrian Nocum, Gian Mamuyac, Santi Santillan, Anton Asistio and Andrei Caracut — the young guns of Rain or Shine.

“Who knows, somebody there could be the next Jhonard Clarito or Adrian Nocum,” he said.

Rain or Shine is determined to get past the semifinals after four straight Final Four appearances in the coming all-Filipino conference.

The Elasto Painters signed Stanley Pringle from free agency to add an experienced leader to the squad.