Rain or Shine seeks to be a contender with retooled frontline

Pending the arrival of Mike Hrabak, Rain or Shine has just shored up its weak frontline with the acquisition of veteran Mark Telan and rookie Jervy Cruz, making the Elasto Painters a serious title threat in the coming Philippine Basketball Association season. The inclusion of Telan, a 6’7 center/forward acquired from Coca-Cola in exchange for future picks, and the addition of the undersized yet talented forward Cruz from the University of Santo Tomas, will certainly ease out the load on Jay-R Reyes. Reyes was the only threat at the post for the Elasto Painters the past three years.

Rain or Shine co-owner Raymond Yu hopes their off-season wheeling and dealing will reap good dividends. “We’ve become much-improved in terms of manpower this season," Yu told GMANews.TV. “We’ve improved our frontline but we are still small compared to other squads. But we have high hopes for this team and we like our chances more." Hrabak, whose rights were given to the Painters as part of a trade with Barako Bull, is expected to join Rain or Shine any time. He is reportedly still settling money issues with the Barakos. Aside from beefing up its front line, Rain or Shine has also taken in guard Jeff Chan, who was involved in a trade involving Rob Wainwright and Mark Andaya. The team has also tapped Marcy Arellano, a rookie guard from the University of the East. Rain or Shine is looking forward to the 2009-10 season with so much promise after "overachieving" the previous year. With two of the best newcomers at that time, eventual Rookie of the Year Gabe Norwood and efficient Sol Mercado proving effective, the young franchise attained a couple of milestones, including a quarterfinals stint in the Philippine Cup and a Final Four appearance in the season-ending Fiesta Conference. - GMANews.TV