Improvisation is nothing new to Rain or Shine.

In fact, the Elasto Painters are thriving in making do with whatever available materials they have in an impressive run so far in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup.

Fiery mentor Yeng Guiao acknowledges that Rain or Shine lacks size with its big men nursing injuries but at the same time praises his team’s determination to fight on undersized and all.

The Elasto Painters pulled through with their fourth straight win after beating Phoenix, 91-80, in a game where they lost center Keith Datu to a knee injury last Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Although paying a steep price for the victory, Rain or Shine climbed to solo lead with a 5-1 win-loss record to boost its chances of advancing into the playoffs.

Rain or Shine was dominated by the Fuel Masters on the boards, 69-50, with Caelan Tiongson out and Beau Belga still under load management due to his vertigo, still, Guiao’s men found a way to win.

“We’re struggling but we’re still here. We’re finding ways to win,” Guiao said.

The injury bug has been biting the Elasto Painters hard.

Datu hurt his knee with under eight minutes left in the third quarter and called it a day, finishing with nine points, four rebounds and three assists. He will be sidelined for the remainder of the season after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon on his right knee, according to the Elasto Painters.

On the same note, Rain or Shine is still waiting for big man Luis Villegas to recover from a knee injury while veteran guard Stanley Pringle is also down with some pain.

“It’s the character, it’s the toughness. We’re getting used to finding ways to win. But I would rather win the easy ones, not the hard ones,” Guiao said.

“Again, the score does not reflect the closeness of the game. If you look at the score, I think it’s a double-digit lead, but it’s a lot closer than that.”

Compensating the gaping hole in the middle, the Elasto Painters’ guards in Adrian Nocum, Gian Mamuyac and Anton Asistio took care of the scoring load, running the open court to get 20 fastbreak points compared to just two by Phoenix.