Rain or Shine, preparing for the PBA Philippine Cup, left yesterday for Darwin, Australia to play three foreign squads.
The Elasto Painters kick off their campaign today against the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL).
ROS coach Yeng Guiao said the matches would provide them lessons and experience.
“We are not a hundred percent ready, but we’ll surely benefit,” said Guiao.
“It’s also a time to bond especially with the new guys.
It’s a new experience particularly with the new guys.
We were invited, we feel fortunate that they picked us, so we grabbed the opportunity.”
Rain or Shine will return Tuesday, but team governor Mamerto Mondragon said they also scheduled another trip in the Middle East for a pair of goodwill games in Kuwait and Bahrain on Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.
Against the Adelaide 36ers, a four-time NBL champion Guiao said they would be facing a formidable squad led by 6-11 center Daniel Johnson and American guard Kenyon McNeail.
“We’re playing a really good team, a team that will give us an opportunity to learn lessons.
We all know how good the basketball program of Australia is, and we’ll get a sample of that against Adelaide,” said Guiao.
“This trip will come a long way with our preparation.
We can gauge where we are and where we’re still lacking.
They have big players, so this will prepare us to play the bigger teams in the PBA like San Miguel Beer, Ginebra and Talk ’N Text,” added Guiao.