The Right Mix

RoS is Jericho
(Photo credit to the owner)

Don't look now, but the Rain or Shine Elastopainters are starting to look every bit like PBA Philippine Cup Finals favorites even minus credited ace player Paul Lee.

Currently sitting pretty with a 4 wins versus 1 loss record (which could have easily been a clean slate had it not been for Global Port Batang Pier's rising phenom Stanley Pringle's buzzer-beating lay-up), Yeng Guiao's boys are playing excellent team basketball which comes at opponents in waves. Previously, RoS always had a problem getting into a rhythm or sustaining leads thanks to their ever-changing rotations. One quarter they are ahead, next, guys look lost waiting for whoever feels like taking charge or is hot.

Now?

They are just working together and covering for one another, with nary a soul putting on a look of disgust whenever a guy opts for a heat check unlike other teams.

Take the shot if it is there. The RoS guys actually get into one another's ears only when an open player opts to pass instead of taking the shot. They are that comfy and at ease as a unit, even towards the rookies.

Let us just put this out there:

Overall, RoS is 1st in the league in Defensive Rebounds (39.3pg), Assists (23.5pg) and Field Goal Percentage (46.6%)

Also:

Beau Belga (24mpg 15ppg 6rpg), Jericho Cruz (24mpg 13ppg), Jeff Chan (22mpg 11ppg 3rpg 3apg), JayR Quinahan (23mpg 10ppg 7rpg) and Raymond Almazan (25mpg 11ppg 9rpg). Those are five guys who are playing below 25 minutes a game and scoring in double figures night in and night out. After them, there are four guys who are playing above 18 minutes, who could easily average 10ppg in Jewel Ponferada (24mpg 8ppg 7rpg), Maverick Ahanmisi (20mpg 8ppg 4rpg 2apg), Gabe Norwood (22mpg 8ppg 5rpg 3apg) and Chris Tiu (19mpg 6ppg 3rpg 5apg). That makes it nine solid guys in the rotation, with some more on the bench just waiting their turn but could also easily win Player of the Game award on any given night.

Oh, and Paul Lee has not even played a single game so far.

All things considered, this team appears to be ridiculously deep. The core group, the veterans, have already reached a level of on-court chemistry that few teams could boast of. Credit RoS management for keeping them together, and Coach Yeng for instilling a type of "blame-less" offense that rewards his players on the court for simply trying.

As long as you can hustle on the floor, Coach Yeng will always call your number even if you shoot bricks.

Jireh Ibanes is blessed.

And Jericho Cruz is a star in the making.

As for the rookies, Coach Yeng looks like they have already endeared themselves to him in some way. Ahanmisi is no Lee in the sense that he is not an explosive scorer, but he does a little bit of every thing so well that he appears to be a stockier PG version of resident Gilas star forward Gabe Norwood. Don Trollano is an obvious Coach Yeng fave; since he is getting a boat load of minutes not to mention going YOLO on offense with no repurcussions whatsoever.

And then there is Josan Nimes, who only joined the team recently and was benched earlier.

Well, he played a lot of minutes in the match versus Blackwater and we saw what he could offer. He wasn't looking to score and played more like a big point guard-- an ultra savvy one that threads tight spaces with incredibly timed passes. He looks a bit awkward when he does a between the legs dribble, but he was effective for the most part of the game and made everyone (Ponferada mostly) look good on offense.

As an RoS fan, we are very happy with what we are seeing. Only concern is how they will look once Lee comes back and runs the point.

How far do you think will RoS go this conference? What's missing, if any?