Nothing but bricks for Elasto Painters

Jeff Chan needs to find his touch

When the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters started turning heads last season, it wasn't only because of fearless rookie Paul Lee, Jeffrei Chan turning into the new Allan Caidic, the blatant rugged style of play or Gabe Norwood's string of polarizing performances. The team won so much because guys were making shots. This season, the team still finds themselves in the middle of the hunt (currently sitting pretty with a 5-3 mark that could've easily been 6-2) but missing arguably their most treasured asset.

The three-ball.

So far, this team is chucking up way too many shots from downtown and not converting. The usual suspect, Chan, is coming off an injury from his shooting hand so he has a valid excuse. The same cannot be said however for sweet-shooting bigs Beau Belga and JayR Quinahan who appear to be holding back on their gunslinging ways and opting to play closer to the basket (where they're not as effective on offence despite their hulking frames).

The bench is also coming off a little weak, with only Ryan Arana stepping up to the plate (9 ppg). Jervy Cruz is also coming off the bench (7 ppg, 3 rpg) but is just not as effective as he was last conference. Paul Lee is doing okay, but not up to his lofty standards (8 ppg, 3apg) and finally, Norwood is having a pedestrian 7-5-2 statline that he could easily bump up to 10-5-5 had he wanted to.

Honestly, we can't even fathom how this team has managed to win five of their eight assignments this PBA Commissioner's Cup with only import Bruno Sundov averaging in double figures (19 ppg, 11 rpg). They are spotty at best on offense, and their defense breaks down from time to time which is a bit odd given their magnificent run the last two conferences on that end of the floor.

Are they distracted? Exhausted perhaps? We can't imagine that being the case, given head coach Yeng Guiao's spread-out playing time with core guys Lee, Norwood, Chan, Belga, Arana and Cruz averaging over the 20-minute mark.

Maybe Coach Yeng could consider putting in Cruz as the starting power forward to see how it goes with Sundov. Belga's been a presence underneath to compensate for the lean giant Sundov, but when his shots are not falling, he quickly becomes a liability as his defenders go out to help on other guys. Cruz can solve all that as the former UAAP MVP is a legit low post presence who can work on the weak side of the ball and just finish in the paint (even in traffic). The size may be a bit of a concern, but we've seen Cruz get his numbers all thanks to the hard work he puts in (plus the giant imports usually guard one another from the start).

Another pressing concern is the lack of chemistry between Lee and Chan.

While Chan has only been back for two games, we'd like to make a case as far as the Philippine Cup when Lee was hurt and Chan was the "man" for the Elasto Painters. Chan was putting up MVP-like numbers early, but once Lee came back from his shoulder injury things started to change. It was as though Chan forgot to play off the basketball- better yet, to play around the natural, paint-slashing Lee.

Again, these two are coming off injury so the timing is clearly not there yet. Once Lee gets in a groove and Chan is able to fully recover from his hand injury, we expect more drive-and-kick plays which, hopefully, would solve the Elasto Painters' shooting woes.

Should the team let go of Sundov?

He's been mighty effective, but not as dominant as you'd want for an import. Consistent yes, dominant no. If the Elasto Painters fall to .500, then Sundov has to go.