IS Rain or Shine following the way of Meralco?
The Elasto Painters are bringing in Ryan Pearson to take over from Steve Taylor Jr going to the final stretch of the team’s campaign in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations.
But here’s the take: Pearson, a product of George Mason University, is four inches under the 6-foot-10 height limit for imports for the conference.
[READ: Guiao says game-hero Taylor's job still not safe]
A team insider said the Elasto Painters are looking at the possibility of also tapping the 6-foot-6 Pearson for the Governors’ Cup should he perform well in his stint with the franchise.
The season-ending conference has a height requirement of 6-foot-6-and-below.
If ever, it’s the same pattern initially taken by Meralco when it signed up KJ McDaniels to replace Johnny O’Bryant.
McDaniels of course, stands at 6-foot-6 and previously played for TNT and NLEX in the Governors Cup.
Meralco coach Norman Black said signing up McDaniels is like hitting two birds with one stone.
“There’s a possibility he can play in the next conference. It was kind of two-fold in our thinking,” said Black. “One is to help us right now. And two is hopefully, we can bring him back for the third conference.”
Unlike Meralco which is near the bottom of the standings at 2-5, Rain or Shine is within reach of a Top Eight spot for a place in the playoffs with its even 4-4 record.
Taylor helped the Elasto Painters reach that level behind his all-around averages of 20.0 points, 16.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.
The import though, is just shooting 56 percent from the foul line.
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