By REYNALD MAGALLON
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Rain or Shine will be facing its first acid test in the 42nd William Jones Cup, taking on the host team Chinese Taipei on Saturday, Aug. 12 at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium.
The Elasto Painters immediately buckled down to work, after arriving in Taipei on Friday, Aug. 11, knowing full well that it would take their A-game to topple the Taiwanese squad in the 7:30 p.m. affair.
Odds are also stacked against the Philippine representatives with Chinese Taipei, bannered by national team mainstays Liu Cheng and Ying-Chun Chen along with 6-foot-11 William Artino, also expected to get a big boost from the home crowd.
Equally determined, however, was Rain or Shine which is looking to build momentum heading into the tiring six consecutive games in six days in its schedule.
“It’s always good to start it with a win especially against the home team. We know the odds are stacked against us but we just have to believe that we can win. If we have a good start we usually have a good ending,” said ROS deputy Caloy Garcia who facilitated the team’s first practice in lieu of head coach Yeng Guiao who will be arriving in Taipei, Saturday morning.
Reinforcing the two-time PBA champions are Gilas Pilipinas’ Ange Kouame and American import Nick Evans.
The team is headed by Alternate Governor Edison Oribiana and Redmond Yu.
Gabe Norwood and Beau Belga, two players who are used to international play owing to their numerous stints with Gilas, are poised to provide the leadership the young ROS core that has the Rey Nambatac, Shaun Ildefonso, Gian Mamuyac, Anton Asistio and Santi Santillan.
Norwood was part of the Gilas team that ruled the event in 2012.
