Rain or Shine’s high risk on Villegas now paying off: ‘Maganda siyang nasa endgame’

Drafting a player sidelined by a serious injury as one of your top picks in the Rookie Draft festivities is a high risk.

To make matters worse, just a few games after his supposed recovery, Luis Villegas, selected third overall pick in the 2023 cast, re-injured his anterior cruciate ligament and had to be re-operated.

Not many teams would like to absorb such risk, but Yeng Guiao and the Rain  or Shine Elasto Painters were more than willing to take that big gamble.

Rain or Shine’s gamble on an injured Luis Villegas

“Nakita na namin yun. Two years naming hinintay yan,” said Guiao in an interview with All-Star Magazine. “Yung first operation niya, it did not work well, so we have to do another operation. So kinailangan ng dalawang taon.”

Proving how confident the team is on making Villegas as an integral part of its future, Rain or Shine re-signed Villegas to a two-year extension on Monday, September 28.

Villegas has been high on the radar of the Elasto Painters.

As a UAAP standout, Villegas played in a one-and-done season  for the University of the East Red Warriors in 2022 where he averaged 13.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals, numbers which were impressive enough to allow him to crack the Mythical Team of the league’s Season 85, joining Malick Diouf and Carl Tamayo of University of the Philippines, Dave Ildefonso of Ateneo and Forthsky Padrigao.

Right after a colorful stint in the UAAP, Villegas set his plans of turning pro — and eventually representing the country in major international competitions. But when he joined the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 training, the unfortunate happened when he tore his ACL during practice which would sideline him for six to nine months.

Why Rain or Shine still used the No. 3 pick on Villegas

But Guiao and the coaching staff were determined to pick Villegas as their No.3 pick, then even contemplated on selecting Zav Lucero as the other draft choice in the first round, but deferred on their plans on taking in the former UP Fighting Maroon.

“Yun nga kasing mag-draft ka ng isang injured player, medyo mahirap na i-justify sa management,” added Guiao. “Paano pa kaya yung dalawang players na parehas injured. So hind imo sila parehas mapapakinabangan kaagad.”

Guiao decided to take on the next best available player and that was Keith Datu, a 6-foot-8 player and someone being groomed to become the heir apparent of Beau Belga, who is now at the tail end of his career.

Datu was brought in as the fourth overall pick, but similarly, the former player of Chico State, who was once considered to play a one-and-done deal with La Salle, also experienced a series of injuries.

Injuries test the Elasto Painters’ patience and depth

But what was admirable was Rain or Shine’s patience on players who were sidelined by injuries.

Aside from Villegas and Datu, players who were unable to play for a long time because of injuries include young talented guard Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti, veteran sentinel and multi-titled player Stanley Pringle, promising rookie forward Jun Roque, and marquee forward Leonard Santillan.

Yet, despite the injury bug, the Elasto Painters were consistent playoff performers.

In five of the six conferences, the team was able to crack the semifinal round.

“Mayroon pa kaming mga hinihintay na makabalik sa injuries. Makakabalik sina Lemetti, Pringle, Jun Roque, Keith Datu. Medyo nakakalimutan nang mga tao lagas rin kami,” said Guiao.

“Marami rin kaming injured players. Hindi naming ginagawang excuse, pero kung kumpleto kami, medyo mas malalim yung paghuhugutan mo ng rotation.”

Why Yeng Guiao wants Villegas on the floor in the endgame

Villegas, according to Guiao, is one of those key players who stepped up just when the team needed him the most and their patience of taking a gamble on this 6-foot-7, do-it-all player has been reaping dividends for the Elasto Painters.

“Nagpasensiya kami, nakita namin worth it yung wait at nagdi-deliver siya ngayon. Ibig sabihin, tama yung assessment namin na magpapasensiya kami, hihintayin namin hanggang gumaling siya,” said Guiao. “It’s paying dividends right now.”

Villegas has been making key contributions, averaging 8.33 points and 3.83 rebounds,  but more than the numbers, Guiao put on check marks that were not visible on stats sheet, yet remain so valuable for the team – his high basketball IQ and his defensive presence.

“Small things that are not noticeable in the stats sheet. Pero sa amin, nararamdaman namin na malaking bagay siya,” added Guiao. “Kaya maganda siyang nasa loob, lalo na sa endgame.”

Moving forward after the Gian Mamuyac trade

For Guiao, Villegas’ timely contributions came in at a perfect time since the Elasto Painters had to trade Gian Mamuyac to the Phoenix Fuel Masters, but what the young forward brings to the squad has also been complemented by the things being provided by the other role players.

“Medyo kinakalimutan na namin yun. We try to move forward and look ahead. Kapag naalala ko, nalulungkot pa rin ako,” said Guiao, referring to the Mamuyac trade. “Pero wala na tayong magagawa.”

“Siguro, kailangang pagbutihin na lang. Actually, nakakabuti naman kasi si Deo (Cuajao) nagpapakita ng laro niya, si Mike Malonzo, si Christian Manaytay and of course, si Luis. These guys were really making key contributions.”