WHEN an excited Rain or Shine organization finally completed the signing of free-agent Stanley Pringle on Tuesday, one of its co-owners, Raymond Yu, found himself looking back on a PBA draft lottery done 15 years ago.
More specifically, on a controversy that came to be known as the 'salamangkero' lottery.
Guiao looked back on those events over a decade ago, when Rain or Shine - holding a first-round pick it acquired from Meralco in the Ronjay Buenafe trade - figured in a lottery with GlobalPort for the No. 1 pick overall in the 2014 PBA draft.
READ Guiao says it was Pringle agent who approached ROS on new deal
GlobalPort had two balls in the box against Rain or Shine's one. The prize? The chance to draft Pringle, a 6-1 Fil-Am guard with US NCAA experience who was then coming off a campaign in Europe and in the defunct ABL.
GlobalPort (now NorthPort) ended up winning in a lottery that was better remembered for Guiao's criticism of what he described as a 'crude and unprofessional manner' in which it was conducted under then commissioner Chito Salud.
READ Guiao hits out at PBA draft lottery's lack of transparency
GlobalPort ended up drafting Pringle while Rain or Shine picked Kevin Alas with the No. 2 pick. And just as ROS had expected, Pringle went on to have an impressive career with the Batang Pier, Ginebra and Terrafirma until he ended up at Rain or Shine as an unrestricted free agent.
Fifteen years later, the irony wasn't lost on the Rain or Shine co-owner.
"Si Boss Raymond nga ang nagsabi na, 'Dapat nga, nasa atin na si Stanley noon pa," said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, just moments after the independent team announced the signing of Pringle to a two-year free-agent contract.
Pringle joins Rain or Shine as a former Rookie of the Year, one-time Best Player of the Conference awardee and four-time champion with Ginebra. But at 38, has the reunion come too late for the player and team?
Guiao doesn't think so.
"I think Stanley can still be very effective playing 17 to 20 minutes [a game]," said Guiao. "And we all saw that he was still very productive with Terrafirma last season averaging more than 10 points a game."
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