Stanley Pringle joins a promising Rain or Shine core for PBA Season 50.
As far as Stanley Pringle is concerned, joining the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters was a no-brainer.
After one season with the Terrafirma Dyip, Pringle signed a two-year contract with the Elasto Painters, which he attributed to factors such as his relationship with head coach Yeng Guiao and the team’s status as an up-and-coming PBA contender.
“I don’t think it was too much of a process, they were the first team to contact me; so, being that I have a history with the coaching staff, it wasn’t really too much of thinking. It just went with the flow,” Pringle shared during the PBA Media Day last September 25.
“Rain or Shine is always there in every game and they always compete to win every game. They play hard and with a fast tempo, and I think playing for Coach Yeng was really the icing on the cake for me,” Pringle, who played for Guiao in the 2018 Asian Games, added.
The veteran guard is coming off a productive season with Terrafirma where he averaged 13.18 points, 3.82 rebounds, and 2.82 assists per game. Pringle is set to bring an added veteran presence as he links up with Felix Lemetti, Adrian Nocum, Anton Assistio, and Andrei Carracut in the backcourt.
With Pringle being a four-time PBA champion and former All-Star, Guiao believes that his experience will be key in taking the E-Painters to the next level. After all, even if Pringle is already a veteran, he sure has a lot left in the tank at this point in his career.
“Ang laking bagay sa amin ni Stanley Pringle, na parang gumagaling ‘yung mga tao sa paligid niya eh; he is able to make players around him better and he can also mentor our younger guards, maraming matutunan sa kanya,” Guiao said in a separate interview.
“We are also getting a closer. A lot of games, I feel that we didn’t win doon sa endgame, or doon sa clutch situation. You need somebody like a Stanley Pringle to get you over, and the other guys can learn from that. So the future looks bright for our team.”
Stanley Pringle says that he is ready to embrace whatever role is assigned to him by Guiao and his coaches.
“It’s always been about the team game, so I don’t think that has changed since I’ve been in the league, and I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team win. Coach Yeng knows my strengths, so he’ll put me in a position to help the team; I know and I trust that, so I’m just going to do what I do. Just practice and work hard, that’s it,” he said.
While he aims to get Rain or Shine past the semifinals hump, Pringle chooses to take things step-by-step, knowing that there will be no shortcuts in the road to a PBA championship.
“That’s the goal [to get RoS over the hump], every team you play on, you want to get a championship, but that’s really hard,” Pringle said. “So I always say step by step, it takes a while; you’ve got to practice together and work on team chemistry.”
“You can’t just jump the gun and say ‘Oh, we’re going to win a championship’. You’ve got to get on it step by step, and hopefully the pieces that you put together will be for the next one, the next conference.”
Banner images taken by RJ Ballecer.