Painters eye Reyes and a big, tall man

After an impressive performance this season that featured two playoff appearances, Rain or Shine's top priority at this time is to re-sign incoming fourth year center Jay-R Reyes.

Raymund Yu, who co-owns Rain or Shine with Terry Que, said yesterday that they're preparing to make an offer to the 6-foot-7 Reyes, one of six players elevated to the PBA from the PBL prior to the 2006-07 Season.

"That's for sure, kukunin namin uli siya. We're just finalizing everything," Yu told the Bulletin in a phone interview. "Probably by next week may linaw na."

Reyes, a strong contender for the Most Improved Player award and a candidate for the Mythical first or second teams, has a contract with Rain or Shine that will end August 15.

This season, Reyes had been a solid contributor for the Elasto Painters, who made the playoffs twice, first the quarterfinals of the all-Filipino Philippine Cup and then the Final Four of the reinforced-conference Fiesta Cup.

In the Philippine Cup, Rain or Shine was swept by Sta. Lucia Realty, while in the Fiesta Cup, the team mentored by Caloy Garcia lost the best-of-seven semis series against defending champion Barangay Ginebra, 4-2.

Aside from re-signing Reyes, Yu said that they are also looking at the PBA Rookie Draft on Aug. 2. The Elasto Painters own the No. 4 overall pick which they intend to use in selecting a big man to add muscle to their frontline.

"Kailangan namin talaga is another big man. We're a few pieces away from being competitive, kulang kami talaga sa malaki. There are some positions na okay na kami," Yu said.