Rain or Shine head coach Chris Gavina gives out instructions to his players during a timeout. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine has always been one of the league’s better teams and a playoff appearance is usually expected of the franchise.
That’s why when the Elasto Painters exited the first round of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs, disappointment was obviously felt.
Head coach Chris Gavina, who was in his first conference leading the team after longtime mentor Caloy Garcia was installed into the front office, said that winning a championship will always be the highest goal of his and any other club in the league but going for it is always easier said than done.
“Just like every other team we aim to reach the finals and try to acquire a championship but I felt that along the way we had our own good moments but there are also bad moments,” said Gavina. “It was not that I was surprised that we made the playoffs, but the primary goal was to at least make the playoffs.”
“I knew the talent that we had the culture that we set paved the way towards that level of success.”
The Elasto Painters have played in the PBA since the 2006-07 season and the only time that they missed out on the playoffs for the whole year were their first two in the league.
Rain or Shine has remained a prominent figure in the playoffs since 2008 and has captured two championships, the 2012 Governors’ and 2016 Commissioner’s Cups, but has since failed to get to that same level.
The farthest the Painters have gotten after 2016 was a semifinals exit in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup to eventual champion San Miguel.
Despite going on a strong 3-0 start in the 2021 Philippine Cup, the Elasto Painters went 3-5 in their next eight games.
Rain or Shine then fell to eventual runner-up Magnolia, 2-0, in the best-of-three quarterfinals.
Gavina said that moving on to the 2021 Governors’ Cup, the team aims to get a better going than its campaign in the All-Filipino conference.
He’s also used a bit of inspiration in their daily practices at Reyes Gym to motivate his players for the coming competition.
“We have high expectations and I actually made a banner of our last championship trophy and I put it at the door of Reyes Gym,” said Gavina. “That’s the first thing our players see every morning so they tap that and that’s our tradition.”