RAIN or Shine coach Yeng Guiao is rarely profuse with praise for his players, but you can sense the fiery drillmaster has taken a liking for Don Trollano.
"Trollano is good, I'm very happy with that rookie," said the Rain or Shine coach at the end of another practice where he saw the two-guard out of Adamson hold his own in a deep and rugged PBA side.
The Laguna native was taken in the second round at 15th overall - the third of four players taken by Rain or Shine in the last draft (the team sent its 17th pick, Simon Enciso, to NLEX for a future second-round pick].
Now Trollano is signed to a contract and will get the chance to prove himself in a new-look Rain or Shine backcourt that will no longer have the recently retired TY Tang and Jonathan Uyloan, who was dropped.
In their place now comes rookies Trollano, No. 3 pick overall Maverick Ahanmisi and Josan Nimes - once he's through with his stint with the Mapua Cardinals in the NCAA.
Guiao has ruled out any more trades for Rain or Shine, saying the deal that paved the way for the arrival of rugged big man Jewel Ponferrada in exchange for Jervy Cruz is likely the last for the team.
"What I mean is that we will no longer be proposing trades," said Guiao. "But if there are other teams coming to us, we will look at their proposals and see if it will be for the good of the team."
Guiao is obviously happy with the team he has now, which may not be much bigger than his past lineups but has added considerable size and heft in all the positions.
"We may not be as big as the other teams, but we've added height is all the positions, like Ponferrada in the frontline, Trillano in the off-guard spot and Maverick in the guard spot," said Guiao.
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