Rain or Shine Elasto Painters - History - Philippine Basketball Association - Rain or Shine Elasto Painters

In 2008, a new name was introduced for the team – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. At the 2008 PBA Draft held at Market! Market!, Taguig, the team drafted Gabe Norwood of George Mason University as the first overall pick. In the 2nd round, the Elasto Painters grabbed point guard Tyrone Tang of De 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 the Alaska Aces in exchange for Alaska's 2009 1st round pick, number five overall Solomon Mercado, and veteran Eddie Laure.

They defeated Air21 on their first game of the 2008–2009 Philippine Cup, 120-102 to spark a surprise showing at the 2008-09 PBA Philippine Cup. The Elasto Painters were aiming for a semifinal berth when they were defeated by the eventual champions Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the elimination round. With a record of 10-8, they faced the defending champions Sta. 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 import Charles Clark but was soon replaced by heavyweight Jai 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 defeated Purefoods 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 the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the semifinals, ending their season with promise. In the 2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup, they made the franchise best start, 3-0 under Yeng Guiao. In the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup, they finished 9-5, 5th place because of an inferior quotient on Ginebra and Petron. They swept the crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra Kings, 2-0 to advance to their 3rd semifinals appearance. They faced the 8th-seeded Powerade Tigers who eliminated the top-seeded crowd favorite B-Meg Llamados but they are eliminated, 3-4. In the 2012 PBA Governors Cup, they found their franchise best start, 4-0. They won 107-100, 100-94*, 106-92 and 93-90 over Alaska Aces, B-Meg Llamados, Air21 Express and Barangay Ginebra Kings on Paul Lee's winning triple 2.6 seconds remaining but lost on arch rival Powerade, 98-104. * Rain or Shine won via overtime.

They made their first final appearance after winning against B-Meg Llamados at a very crucial game, 92-82, under the leadership of Coach Yeng Guiao on 2012 PBA Governor's Cup, though after that loss, B-Meg Llamados won over a do-or-die game against the Barangay Ginebra Kings for the remaining slot for the finals.

On their debut game for the 2012 Governor's Cup, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters won a very physical game against B-Meg Llamados 91-80. The team had a disappointing 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 lead by Coach Yeng Guiao along with their import Jamelle Cornley and the local Jeff Chan, who won the Finals MVP, grabbed the lead early in the third quarter after B-Meg Llamados' import Marqus Blakely had foul trouble.