The Welcoat Dragons entered the PBA in 2006 and made the switch to the Rain or Shine name in 2008.
The Welcoat Dragons will make a PBA comeback.
But no, they are still the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. The Elasto Painters will only sport retro Welcoat jerseys when they tackle Converge in their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup match later today, April 3.
The team made the announcement on Tuesday, April 2.
After winning multiple championships in the now-defunct Philippine Basketball League (PBL), the Raymond Yu and Terry Que-owned team first entered the PBA as the Welcoat Dragons in 2006 after buying the Shell franchise.
In 2008, coinciding with the arrival of no. 1 pick Gabe Norwood, the team switched to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and have gone on to win the 2012 Governors’ Cup and 2016 Commissioner’s Cup championships, respectively.
Among the notable players who donned the Welcoat threads were Alex Compton, Rob Wainwright, Joey Mente, and Jireh Ibanes.
Gametime is set at 7:30pm at the historic Smart Araneta Coliseum.