Rain or Shine's young guards are developing quite nicely.
Back in June, rumors surfaced that the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters had emerged as a likely destination of free agent guard Maverick Ahanmisi, who is himself a former protégé of Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
The fiery mentor, however, shut those rumors down almost immediately, noting how the Elasto Painters have guards the team can develop—and that he and his coaching staff will be patient with them.
"We have young guards we feel we can develop. We will be patient with them," said Guiao about his young backcourt composed of Gian Mamuyac, Anton Asistio, Andrei Caracut, and Rey Nambatac.
And, on Saturday, Mamuyac, Asistio, and Caracut all repaid Guiao’s trust, combining for 41 points to help Rain or Shine overcome Japan’s U22 squad, 116-91, to net only its second win in the 42nd William Jones Cup.
Mamuyac shone the brightest among the three young guards, chipping in 18 points on top of 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in a brilliant all-around showing. Caracut was not far behind, scoring 12 points and dishing off 9 dimes, while Asistio, who hit the dagger three in Rain or Shine's first Jones Cup win, contributed 11 markers, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
More impressive, all three came alive in the second half, when the Elasto Painters outscored Japan, 65-34, thanks to 23 combined points from Mamuyac (11), Asistio (8), and Caracut (4) to go along with Ange Kouame’s 16 markers and Santi Santillan’s 13.
Rain or Shine will round out its Jones Cup stint on Sunday against the USA’s University of California-Irvine, which is unbeaten and neck-and-neck with Chinese Taipei A at the top of the standings. Unfortunately for the Elasto Painters, they will finish at the bottom half for the tournament—far from
the podium finish Guiao was targeting initially.