Injuries just won’t leave Rain or Shine alone.
Already dealing with manpower woes, especially up front, the Elasto Painters are facing another dilemma after Keith Datu went down with an apparent leg injury during their eventual victory over Phoenix on Wednesday night.
“Nangyari pa ‘to ngayon,” lamented head coach Yeng Guiao after their 91-80 win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to regain the solo lead in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup. “We have to make an assessment of his injury, his health.”
Play stopped at the 7:47 mark of the third quarter after Datu couldn’t muster enough strength to stand up on his own. Broadcast replays showed that he slipped in an attempt to roll to the basket, only for his right leg to give out.
He would never return to the game and left with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists in under 16 minutes of play as a starter. It spoiled what could have been yet another solid showing from the third-year big man.
“Hindi ko pa alam exactly kung ano status niya, kung how serious the injury is,” Guiao offered.
“But he’s already been having issues with his knees even before. Kaya nga ‘yun ‘yung focus namin, to strengthen his lower body.”
The Elasto Painters did find ways to win, though, and improved to 5-1 thanks to a strong fourth quarter led by Anton Asistio and Gian Mamuyac. But a huge cloud of uncertainty is now floating above the crew, given what happened.
This comes at a time when RoS is already dealing with injuries to key frontcourt players — the team has placed Beau Belga under a minutes restriction due to his vertigo while helping Caelan Tiongson work his way back.
Due to a hamstring issue, the sophomore bruiser has been in the chamber together with veteran guard Stanley Pringle, who has yet to reach maximum health as the 38-year-old continues to feel some pain in his sore knee.
“Mahirap kasi na mina-manage namin minutes ni Beau, tapos si Keith nagka-problema ngayon, tapos si Caelan na-injure din. Baka puro guwardiya na lang ilaro namin eh ‘no, pagka ganoon,” Guiao quipped despite their situation.
That’s why Guiao is hoping to at least see Tiongson and Pringle available sooner to fill in some gaps while they try to assess Datu and his situation, especially now that they just have five games left in the elimination round.
“With Caelan, I’m confident na the next few days he can be ready,” he said, as they will play NLEX this Saturday in Antipolo. “Si Stanley kasi I don’t want to play him with pain, pero structurally OK naman ‘yung tuhod niya eh.”
If it’s any ray of hope, it is the time in between some of their later games, which, for Guiao, could be useful in trying to get his men healthy. After Sunday, they’ll take on TNT exactly a week later (November 15) in Cagayan de Oro.
After that, they won’t play until December 7 against Converge in Montalban. Rain or Shine will then wrap up its elimination round with clashes against Magnolia and Ginebra on December 15 and 17, respectively, in Bahrain.
“Ang pinaghahandaan talaga namin, ‘yung last three or four games namin. Medyo ‘yun ang mabibigat na kalaban namin,” said Guiao.
“And then we have a two- or three-week gap in between games, so that’s really the time we’ll try to make use of to get everybody healthy.”
#WATCH: “SI LUIS 2030 SIGURO READY NA SIYA” 😂🤣
Yeng Guiao gives an update on the injuries plaguing Rain or Shine’s frontline 🏀#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/2c5JM8ZzgJ
📹 Justine Bacnis / Tiebreaker Times#PBA50 pic.twitter.com/aUHVZXjVUz
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) November 5, 2025
