In well-traveled Tiongson, Painters have a rookie who can lead

Caelan Tiongson, playing for Strong Group Athletics in the Jones Cup, is one of the aspirants in this year’s PBA Rookie Draft. –SGA PHOTO

Now that Caelan Tiongson has been inked to a contract ahead of the PBA season, Rain or Shine is hoping his experience would provide valuable help to a relatively young roster.

“With Caelan, we have another leader in our team,” coach Yeng Guiao said.

Tiongson and Rain or Shine came to terms on a three-year deal last Sunday in Davao City where the Elasto Painters took part in the Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament, defeating the UAAP champion La Salle Green Archers for the title.

The deal came exactly two weeks after Rain or Shine found Tiongson still available as the seventh overall pick in the Rookie Draft.

Many projected the 32-year-old forward to be selected earlier in the proceedings, given his credentials in the defunct Asean Basketball League and Taiwan’s T1 League.But teams kept passing on Tiongson, and Rain or Shine made sure it wouldn’t waste the chance of adding someone who could fit in Guiao’s system where versatility is a must.

“We thought he would be drafted earlier,” said Guiao as mock drafts projected Tiongson at No. 3 at the earliest.

Getting to know team

That pick was originally owned by Terrafirma before it was shipped to Barangay Ginebra, who snagged RJ Abarrientos, as part of the trade that sent Stephen Holt and Isaac Go to the Gin Kings.

“We know his abilities. We know that he’s someone who can score, who can defend and we also know he has leadership qualities. So those will be useful for a young team like ours.”

Tiongson, though, is still in the process of getting up to speed with how things run at Rain or Shine since he didn’t witness in person his selection due to his stint with Strong Group Athletics in its successful run to the William Jones Cup title in Taiwan.

He also didn’t play in the Davao invitational since the two parties were still working on coming up with a deal, though Tiongson spent the whole campaign with the team in a cheerleader’s role.

The Elasto Painters ruled the Kadayawan tournament with a 138-116 rout of the Green Archers, completing a four-game sweep, with import Aaron Fuller and Andrei Caracut leading the way.

They also beat other PBA squads in Phoenix and Converge while also prevailing over La Salle in their first meeting.