This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
2025–26 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters season
Founded	2006
History	Welcoat Dragons (2006–2008) Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2008–present)
Team colors	Navy blue, red, yellow, white
Company	Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc.
Board governor	Mamerto Mondragon Edison Oribiana (alternate)
Team manager	Mamerto Mondragon Jireh Ibañes (assistant)
Head coach	Yeng Guiao
Ownership	Raymond Yu and Terry Que
Championships	2 championships 2012Governors' 2016Commissioner's 6 Finals appearances
Website	asiancoatings.com/elastopainters/
Light uniform Dark uniform Alternate uniform

TheRain or Shine Elasto Painters (colloquially known as theE-Painters) are a professionalbasketball team in thePhilippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise rights of theShell Turbo Chargers in 2006, which disbanded after the2004–05 PBA season.

From 1996 to 2006, the franchise played in thePhilippine Basketball League, carrying the nameWelcoat House Paints,Welcoat Paintmasters and theSt. Benilde-Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, winning a total of six championships.

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters debuted in thePhilippine Basketball League in 1996 as the Welcoat Paint Masters. Its first championship came in the 1999 Challenge Cup, winning 3–0 overRed Bull Energy Drink. Welcoat was considered as one of the two teams to enter the PBA before the2000 season but lost out toRed Bull. Since then, the Paint Masters won five more championships, fielding amateur and formerMetropolitan Basketball Association players, most notablyDon Allado,Renren Ritualo,Yancy de Ocampo,Rommel Adducul,Ronald Tubid,James Yap,Paul Artadi, andJay Washington. One of its biggest rivals from 2000 to 2002 was Shark Energy Drink, with PBA playersChester Tolomia (later joined Welcoat in 2004),Roger Yap, and later Rain or Shine memberGilbert Malabanan, as both teams engaged in four straight finals series, splitting both series in the process.

In 2005, Welcoat changed its name to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, one of the products of their parent company, Welbest. The Elasto Painters made it all the way to the finals of the Heroes Cup againstMagnolia. After leading the series 2–0, Rain or Shine suffered one of the biggest collapses in league history as the Wizards won the series in five games. In the 2006 PBL Unity Cup, the Elasto Painters were swept in the semifinals by theToyota-Otis Sparks to end their four consecutive finals appearance, but placed third in a one-game playoff against Montaña Pawnshop on June 8. Prior to the start of Game 3 of the Unity Cup title series betweenHarbour Centre and Toyota-Otis on June 13, 2006, the league awarded the team with the Dynasty Award for their 10 years of success in the league. Several past and present members of the Welcoat franchise were on hand, as they brought their six championship trophies during the ceremony.

After Shell's departure in the PBA in 2005, the league gave Shell an ultimatum of until early 2006 to either announce their return to the league for the 06–07 season, or to sell the franchise to a prospective buyer. In several press releases and interview, then-PBA CommissionerNoli Eala mentioned that some companies were interested in joining the league, although he did not stress which of these companies were. One of Eala's vision was for the PBA to be a 12-team league. Welcoat suddenly came into the picture, expressing interest to buy the Shell franchise. By January 2006, major newspapers reported that the Welcoat team is nearing the completion of acquiring the Shell team. By February, the PBA announced the entry of Welcoat as the 10th PBA team for the 2006–2007 season. People's Journal said that the turnover was approved between P30-40 million, a big drop from the original P60 million the Turbo Chargers wanted[1]^{[permanent dead link]}The Manila Times, however, reported that it was close to P55 million that Shell wanted[2]

Welcoat put out P60 million as bond for five years, P7 million for participation fee and another P6 million for transfer fee.

As incentive, the PBA allowed Welcoat to grab three amateur players from their Rain or Shine PBL team. The Paint Masters namedJay-R Reyes,Junjun Cabatu, andNCAA Most Valuable PlayerJay Sagad as the three players from the core of its amateur team which they elevated into the pros directly. Welcoat also signed PBL veteransNiño Gelig, undrafted point guardFroilan Baguion,Jercules Tangkay, and former Shell playersAdonis Sta. Maria andRob Wainwright. In the dispersal draft, Welcoat tookGilbert Lao fromCoca-Cola andDenver Lopez fromSan Miguel.

In August 2006, Welcoat announced that they will be named as theWelcoat Dragons in their pro stint while also grabbing formerUP Fighting Maroons playersAbby Santos andJireh Ibañes as the team's new rookies, although Santos failed to sign with the team.

Welcoat Dragons kits

Light uniform

Dark uniform

In its PBA debut, Welcoat lost to eventual championBarangay Ginebra Kings in the season-opening game of the2006–07 PBA season, 102–69.^[1] Jojo Tangkay scored the team's first-ever basket in the league. Denver Lopez led the team with 12 points while rookie Jay-R Reyes had 10 for the Dragons. The Dragons won its first victory on October 9 defeatingCoca-Cola. Their next two victories came at the hands of theSan Miguel Beermen and theTalk 'N Text Phone Pals. Despite a 3–5 record, Welcoat lost their next 10 games along with injuries to key players that eventually ended their campaign with a 3–15 record, the only team to be eliminated after the elimination round of the2006–07 PBA Philippine Cup.

During the2007 PBA Fiesta Conference, the Dragons had two active imports, Wayland White and assistant coachAlex Compton. The other imports, Charles Clark and Rob Sanders, preceded White. The Dragons were again the first team to be eliminated in the Fiesta Conference by the hands of thePurefoods Tender Juicy Giants. The Dragons finished with a 7–29 record for the 2006–07 PBA season and was awarded the first overall draft pick after they won the draft lottery. They eventually selectedJoe Devance ofUniversity of Texas at El Paso.

Before the start of the2008 PBA Fiesta Conference,Leo Austria resigned as head coach of the Dragons citing that the management wanted a new direction.^[2] Then-assistant coachCaloy Garcia was named interim head coach on March 18 and would eventually become the team's official head coach.^[3] The Dragons finished with another 7–29 record and failed to qualify again for the playoffs in either of the two conferences.

In 2008, a new name was introduced for the team –Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. At the2008 PBA Draft held at Market! Market!, Taguig, the team draftedGabe Norwood ofGeorge Mason University as the first overall pick. In the 2nd round, the Elasto Painters grabbed point guardTyrone Tang ofDe La Salle University. 24 hours after the draft proper, the team traded 2007 first overall pick Joe Devance and their 2009 and 2010 second-round picks to theAlaska Aces in exchange for Alaska's 2009 1st-round pick, number five overallSolomon Mercado, and veteranEddie Laure.

They defeatedAir21 on their first game of the 2008–2009 Philippine Cup, 120–102 to spark a surprise showing at the2008-09 PBA Philippine Cup. The Elasto Painters were aiming for a semifinal berth when they were defeated by the eventual championsTalk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the elimination round. With a record of 10–8, they faced the defending championsSta. Lucia Realtors in the quarterfinals where they were swept 2–0 in the best-of-3 series, with Norwood and Mercado being ejected in Game 1. Their 10-win record surpassed their best performance in a season.

During the Fiesta Conference, the Elasto Painters took importCharles Clark but was soon replaced by heavyweightJai Lewis, a former college teammate of Gabe Norwood. Ace play-maker Sol Mercado got injured before their quarterfinals game with Purefoods. Despite a depleted lineup, the Elasto Painters defeatedPurefoods led by Gabe Norwood and point guard Tyrone Tang in the absence of Mercado. Tang made a three-point shot to take the lead with 31 seconds left, they won and made it to the semifinals for the first time in franchise history. They were then eliminated by theBarangay Ginebra Kings in the semifinals.

In the2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup, they made the franchise best start, 3–0 underYeng Guiao. In the2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup, they finished 9–5, 5th place because of an inferior quotient onGinebra andPetron. They swept theBarangay Ginebra Kings, 2–0 to advance to their 3rd semifinals appearance. They faced the 8th-seededPowerade Tigerswho eliminated the top-seeded crowd favoriteB-Meg Llamados but they are eliminated, 3–4.

The team made history during the2012 PBA Commissioner's Cup by signing the Croatian centerBruno Šundov. He served as a center inCroatian basketball team and was the first European player to play in the league.

In the2012 PBA Governors Cup, they found their franchise best start, 4–0. They won 107–100, 100–94*, 106–92 and 93–90 overAlaska Aces,B-Meg Llamados,Air21 Express andBarangay Ginebra Kings onPaul Lee's winning triple 2.6 seconds remaining but lost on archrival Powerade, 98–104.* Rain or Shine won viaovertime.

They made their first final appearance after winning againstB-Meg Llamados at a very crucial game, 92–82, under the leadership of coachYeng Guiao on 2012PBA Governor's Cup, though after that loss, B-Meg would win in a do-or-die game against theBarangay Ginebra Kings for the remaining slot for the finals.

On their debut game for the 2012 Governor's Cup, the Elasto Painters won a very physical game against B-Meg Llamados 91–80. The team had a loss on Game Two where their rookie,Paul Lee, re-injured his left shoulder 80–85. Even without Paul Lee, the team bounced back on their third and fourth games, 93–84 and 94–89, respectively, to lead the series 3–1. However, the team lost both Game 5 and 6 with B-Meg forcing a winner-take-all Game 7. On August 5, 2012, the six-year-old franchise won their first Championship title after handing B-Meg an 83–76 game loss. The undermanned team led by coachYeng Guiao along with their importJamelle Cornley and the localJeff Chan, who won the Finals MVP, grabbed the lead early in the third quarter after B-Meg Llamados' importMarqus Blakely had foul trouble.^[4]

In2013-14 PBA Philippine Cup they finished the eliminations in 2nd place of the standings. They beatGlobalPort Batang Pier in the quarterfinals in one game. They also beatPetron Blaze Boosters in 4–1 series win in the semifinals, despite coachYeng Guiao having suspended in Game 5. They facedSan Mig Super Coffee Mixers in the finals but lost to them in 6 games.

In2014-15 PBA Philippine Cup they finished the eliminations in 2nd seed of the standings and they got the automatic semifinals slot as the new format in the Philippine Cup playoffs was changed. They faceAlaska in the Semifinals but lost in 6 games. In2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup, they choseRick Jackson as their temporary import to wait forWayne Chism to release fromHapoel Gilboa Galil of Israel. On February 16, Wayne is now ready to play for Rain or Shine and set his debut on February 20. They finished 1st in the eliminations via quotient system. It is the first time that they finished the top spot since2012 PBA Governors Cup. They beatBrgy. Ginebra in a crucial game; 92–91. They sweptMeralco in the best-of-three semifinals to faceTalk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the Finals. They then lost the game 7 in overtime. But in the middle of the Commissioner's Cup, they released their resident import for the Governors CupArizona Reid to play forSan Miguel Beermen to replaceRonald Roberts. Many fans of Rain or Shine were shocked after they heard the news, because of this, in2015 PBA Governors' Cup, they chose formerAlaska importWendell McKines as their import. They finished 3rd place of the standings, in the Quarterfinals, they beatBarako Bull Energy in overtime by Paul Lee's layup, but lost to San Miguel in 4 games at the best of five Semifinals.

In the2015 PBA draft many analysts in their mock draft choose either choseArthur dela Cruz orNorbert Torres for the third pick, but the team selectedMaverick Ahanmisi, thenJosan Nimes on the 12th pick andDon Trollano on the 2nd-round pick. In2015-16 PBA Philippine Cup, they finished 3rd in the standings and advanced to the playoffs, beatingBlackwater in the first phase of the quarterfinals andTNT in the second phase of the quarterfinals. But they lost toSan Miguel in the semifinals in six games. In the2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup, they signedWayne Chism to be their import for the third time, although Wayne injured his hamstring during the game againstMeralco on February 17, it was doubtful he could play for the rest of the conference. They choseAntoine Wright to replace Chism but he was replaced byMo Charlo on March 8. While approaching the playoffs, they chosePierre Henderson-Niles to replace the undersized Charlo to match-up against their possible opponents in the playoffs includingGreg Slaughter andJune Mar Fajardo. With Henderson-Niles, a 6'8" center to help the team as an inside presence in the paint, they finished 5th place in the standings and swept Ginebra in the quarterfinals and finally beatSan Miguel in 4 games at the best-of-five semifinals. They faced theAlaska in the finals and finally they won their 2nd championship in their franchise history in 6 games whichPaul Lee was named Finals MVP.^[5] In the2016 PBA Governors' Cup, they selectedDior Lowhorn as their import, then after losing back to back games in the middle of the conference, they signedJason Forte to replace Lowhorn in September. After two games, he was replaced byJosh Dollard. Rain or Shine then failed to gain the last spot to qualify to the playoffs after losing toPhoenix, 94–105. This would also be Guiao's last tenure as Rain or Shine's head coach.

On October 5,Yeng Guiao signed with theNLEX Road Warriors. This prompted assistant coachCaloy Garcia to return as the head coach of the team starting next season. On October 13, their starting point guard,Lee was traded toStar in exchange forJames Yap. On the same day,J.R. Quiñahan was also traded toGlobalPort in exchange forJay Washington.^[6] On October 14,Josan Nimes was traded toMahindra for a second-round draft pick in2018. The team hired two former PBA players,Jolly Escobar and Matthew Makalintal to be the new assistant coaches of Rain or Shine.

FormerMahindra head coachChris Gavina was appointed, replacing Caloy Garcia. Garcia was reassigned as an assistant coach, and active consultant.^[7]

In September 2022, Yeng Guiao returns as head coach of the Elasto Painters, replacingChris Gavina.^{[8][9][10][11]}

In thePhilippine Cup, Elasto Painters reached the semifinals, but wereswept by eventual runner-upSan Miguel Beermen.^[12]

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters roster

• v
• t
• e

Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F 0 Caelan Tiongson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 1992–05–07 Biola G 1 Adrian Nocum 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 1999−08−10 Mapúa G 2 Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 1999–02–10 Salt Lake CC G 3 Gian Mamuyac 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999–03–05 Ateneo F 4 Mike Malonzo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 1999−10−23 National-U F 5 Gabe Norwood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1985–02–09 George Mason G 8 Anton Asistio 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1995–06–02 Ateneo G/F 10 Shaun Ildefonso 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1997–09–30 National-U G 11 Stanley Pringle 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1987–03–05 Penn State G 14 Andrei Caracut 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996–01–30 De La Salle C 21 Keith Datu  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1996–03–19 Chico State G/F 22 Jhonard Clarito 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1996–04–03 De Ocampo C 24 Luis Villegas  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1997−09−05 UE F/C 25 Leonard Santillan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1996–03–05 De La Salle C 28 Beau Belga 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1986–11–30 Philippine Christian C 41 Kris Porter 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1994–09–02 Ateneo F 44 Christian Manaytay (R) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 1999−11−02 UST	Head coach Yeng Guiao Assistant coach(es) Caloy Garcia (1st assistant) Mike Buendia Ricky Umayam Team manager Mamerto Mondragon[a] Jireh Ibañes (assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import (GI) Governors' Cup Import (EI) EASL Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie Injured Roster

• ^a also serves as Rain or Shine's board governor.

List of the last five conferences completed by the Rain or Shine franchise. For the full-season history, seeList of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

• Samboy Lim, former player, assistant coach and consultant in theirPhilippine Basketball League squad.

• Ryan Araña
• Junjun Cabatu
• Jeff Chan
• Jervy Cruz
• Paul Lee
• Jonathan Uyloan
• J.R. Quiñahan
• Arizona Reid
• Jay-R Reyes
• Ty Tang
• J. R. Quiñahan
• Chris Tiu

• 1999 1st PBL Challenge Cup (def. Red Bull 3–0)
• 1999 2nd PBL Challenge Cup (def. ANA Water Dispenser 3–0)
• 2000 PBL Chairman's Cup (def. Shark Energy Drink 4–0)
• 2001 PBL Cup (def. Shark Energy Drink 4–0)
• 2002 PBL Challenge Cup (def. Dazz 3–0)
• 2005 PBL Unity Cup (def. Montaña 3–1)

• 2012 PBA Governors Cup (def. B-Meg Llamados 4–3)
• 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup (def. Alaska Aces 4–2)

• Rain or Shine Elasto Painters draft history

• Official website
• Enter the Dragons: Welcoat undergoes a ‘paint-staking’ makeover
• MYPBL.com: Rain or ShineArchived April 10, 2006, at theWayback Machine
• PhilippineNews.com: Welcoat team: ‘Genesis’ of great players
• Sunstar Cebu: PBA offers franchise to Welcoat Paints
• Manila Times: Welcoat poised to enter PBA via Shell’s franchise
• Journal: Welcoat joins PBA family^{[permanent dead link]}
• Manila Times: PBA welcomes Welcoat Paints as 10th member
• PBA.ph: Welcoat wants Compton in PBA debut

• Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
• Basketball teams established in 1996
• Philippine Basketball League teams
• 1996 establishments in the Philippines

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2020
• All articles lacking in-text citations
• Use mdy dates from January 2019
• Use Philippine English from September 2022
• All Wikipedia articles written in Philippine English
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from April 2018
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Pages using Template:College with unsupported name
• Webarchive template wayback links