(This is the first of ten
articles called What They Need. Last
year, I made a version where we called out a PBA team’s roster and pick out the
slots they need to shore up. Most of these deficiencies are addressed via the
draft.)
Last
season, Alaska was in some ways like
Talk N Text. They made the finals of
the Philippine and Fiesta Cups and they almost won a two-conference format “grand
slam”. It was not the case this season. The team relinquished Reynel Hugnatan to Meralco while Joe Devance was involved in a
pseudo-three way trade that ended up with JDV going to B-Meg in what were considered as very, very lopsided deals. The
core of LA Tenorio, Cyrus Baguio, Tony
Dela Cruz, and Sonny Thoss are
still there but they need shore up their bench.
TOP
FIVE ACES OF THE 2010-11 SEASON:
1
SONNY THOSS
PHILCUP:
12.2PPG – 9.7RPG – 1.9APG – 1.1BPG – 17 GAMES
COMCUP:
9.8PPG – 9.6RPG – 2.4APG – 1.3BPG – 12 GAMES
GOVCUP:
12.4PPG – 9.7RPG – 2.5APG – 1.5BPG – 13 GAMES
2
LA TENORIO
PHILCUP:
11.2PPG – 5.2RPG – 4.3APG – 1.2SPG – 17 GAMES
COMCUP:
17.3PPG – 3.8RPG – 5.0APG – 1.3SPG – 12 GAMES
GOVCUP:
13.0PPG – 5.2RPG – 4.4APG – 1.4SPG – 13 GAMES
3
CYRUS BAGUIO
PHILCUP:
13.2PPG – 4.3RPG – 3.5APG – 1.2SPG – 17 GAMES
COMCUP:
11.8PPG – 4.4RPG – 3.4APG – 1.3SPG – 12 GAMES
GOVCUP:
11.7PPG – 4.1RPG – 1.8APG – 1.0SPG – 0.7BPG – 9 GAMES
4
JAY-R REYES
PHILCUP:
(RAIN OR SHINE) 9.1PPG – 7.5RPG – 1.3APG – 14 GAMES
COMCUP:
(AIR21) 7.7PPG – 6.8RPG – 0.8APG – 1.2BPG – 15 GAMES
GOVCUP:
5.2PPG – 4.0RPG – 0.7APG – 13 GAMES
5
TONY DELA CRUZ
PHILCUP:
9.0PPG – 4.8RPG – 2.0APG – 1.1SPG – 0.7BPG – 17 GAMES
COMCUP:
5.8PPG – 4.4RPG – 1.6APG – 1.0SPG – 12 GAMES
GOVCUP:
8.2PPG – 4.8RPG – 0.8APG – 0.7SPG – 12 GAMES
WHAT
THEY NEED:
CENTERS: When Samigue Eman develops the potential that made him a second overall
pick, Tim Cone will have the twin
tower option he desperately yearns. Sonny
Thoss has slowly developed into a double-double menace. They have Ervin Sotto, Mike Burtscher, and Paolo Bugia in the reserved list but
Cone hasn’t really made use of them.
FORWARDS: Jay-R Reyes could have been a match for Hugnatan but not for
Devance. Hans Thiele was given to
the Aces but he too isn’t getting the grace of Cone. The triangle offense is
hard to master which is why college standout Elmer Espiritu struggled in his rookie season. Alaska’s bench has
been decimated and they need to pad their second unit if they want to continue
to dominate. The good news for Cone is that Wesley Gonzales seems to be at home with his system because he learned
that system through Joel Banal in
Ateneo. He also has the very dependable Tony
Dela Cruz to backstop his rotation. Mark
Borboran, entering his fourth season, must show career growth.
GUARDS: The LA Tenorio-Cyrus Baguio
backcourt has worked wonders for Tim Cone. They have been getting the lion
share of the minutes but for example in the Governor’s Cup when Baguio was
sidelined, it looked like Tenorio and Jason Forte had to make up for his
absence. In their bench they have Bonbon
Custodio and Brandon Cablay but
their bench is so limited that they had to acquire Aris Dimaunahan.
WHO
SHOULD THEY PICK?
Bench
players. They need to bolster up their bench. It has been their problem for a
couple of seasons now and they need to use the players they choose effectively.
However, Tim Cone has this query to use rookies or newbies in his lineup.
Remember the thing I wrote that Ateneo players under Joel Banal work well in
the triangle offense? Well if that’s the case, they should send their first
round pick or something to partner with Jay-R Reyes to Ginebra to claim Enrico Villanueva or Billy Mamaril!
Anyway
if they will use this pick, the best choice is to get a shooting guard or a
small forward. In the fifth spot, they have the luxury to wait and see whether
or not Mac Baracael, Marcio Lassiter, Dylan
Ababou, and Chris Lutz have yet
to get drafted. Either of these guys will prove solid in giving Baguio and
Tenorio an extra scorer. If it was me, I'd choose Lutz because he reminds me of a young Jeffrey Cariaso. In the second round, Alaska has this tendency to claim
weird choices like what they did a couple of drafts ago when they took
Burtscher. There is a big player from EAC named Marvin Greabel. If it was me though, I can see bigs like Magi Sison, Ronald Pascual, Dave Marcelo, and
Vic Manuel getting the nod if still
available or James Martinez, Garvo
Lanete, Eric Salamat, or Pamboy
Raymundo in the guard spot. Poor second round selection though because not
unless he does something great that Tim Cone likes, action will be scarce for
the unlucky draftee.
Game
over.
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