Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao has a penchant for finding diamonds in the rough and the veteran mentor found another one to develop in Jhonard Clarito.

The third-year guard rose to the occasion and put up his best performance in the PBA, dropping a career-high 29 points to help the Elasto Painters cruise to a 121-113 victory over the TNT Tropang Giga and force a do-or-die Game 3.

Clarito earned praises from Guiao for his performance that should prove that he belongs to the big league after being one of the unheralded players during the 2022 PBA draft where he was picked fourth in the second round.

“Alam mo si Jhonard ang ganda ng kwento nito eh, mga players na hindi pansinin. Akala nila yung mga pwedeng sumikat lang yung mga gwapo pero gwapo rin naman ito si Jhonard eh,” said Guiao in jest, drawing laughter from Clarito and the members of the press.

Turning serious, though, Guiao said he really likes the playstyle of the 28-year-old guard.

“Hard nosed player, blue collar tapos ang sipag mag practice very rugged siya. Iyon yung gusto ko, natural yung physical game niya tapos nagsisipag talaga sya na i-improve yung offensive skills,” the fiery mentor said of Clarito.

Clarito has been one of ROS' solid contributors even before his Game 2 explosion, and was even rewarded a fresh two-year deal just before the playoffs, something that he made sure to repay with the solid performance.

“Kami nila coach Caloy, coach Ricky, coach Mike, nakikita namin iyon kaya onting onti humahaba yung playing time niya. Nung nakukuha na niya yung laro nya, paexpire na yung kontrata nya kaya binigay na namin yung gusto nya,” said Guiao.

For Clarito’s part, it was a dream come true to be handled by Guiao who he actually wanted to be his coach when he first came into the league. The veteran mentor was still then with NLEX while Clarito was drafted with ROS.

Their partnership, however, came into reality when Guiao returned to Rain or Shine – a move that delighted Clarito.

“Nung una sinabi ko nga kung magpa draft ako sana makuha ako ni coach Yeng, drafting palang kasi nasa NLEX sya non eh,” said Clarito.

“Naririnig namin na babalik nga si coach Yeng ayun nga nagpapasalamat kami, kaya laking tuwa ko nun nung pagpasok ni coach Yeng sa Rain or Shine,” Clarito recalled.