Snow Badua reports on Twitter that the Petron Blaze Boosters, feeling the need to boost up their bench
with the release of Lordy Tugade, Jojo
Duncil and Paolo Hubalde to Shopinas
and Jay Washington and Rabeh Al-Hussaini
to injuries...
... has
acquired Marc Agustin.
NEPOTISM!
But if
you think about it though, the acquisition of Agustin is not a bad idea.
Marc
Agustin is the spawn of PBA MVP and
current Petron Blaze Boosters coach Ato Agustin. The tattoo-laden small
forward is the twenty-first pick of the
2011 PBA Draft. He played college ball with the Adamson Soaring Falcons and his teammates included Ken Bono, Patrick Cabahug, Paul Gonzalgo, Roel
Hugnatan, Mike Galinato, and current Falcons Alex Nuyles, Lester Alvarez, Jerick Canada, and Jan Colina. After
being left unsigned by the Powerade
Tigers, Marc tried out with his dad’s team and gained a spot.
In his
first full conference as head coach, the elder Agustin piloted Petron to the 2011 Governor’s Cup title. Maybe a perk
we don’t know is that the coach can pick his son to play for his squad. After
the humiliating end of Talk N Text’s
grand slam hopes... I’ll give in to every perk Agustin wants! Regardless,
this is not the first the league has seen this. Robert Jaworski chose Dodot
Jaworski in the second round of the 1995
PBA Draft. In the MBA, legendary
player and coach Jimmy Mariano
handpicked his son, former DLSU Green
Archer Jonas Mariano as the star of his Surigao Miners.
While
there are instances of this kind, the following father and son combos mentioned
fare less to what is happening at Letran
right now. From the makers of Chris
Calaguio, Willie Miller, and RJ Jazul is another shooting guard that has
the tools to flourish in the big leagues. Kevin
Alas is the Knights’ leader right now, and it’s not because of his ties
with the coaching staff. Playing under his dad Louie Alas, Kevin has evolved into a very accurate hitman that can
also defend the ball.
Kevin
Alas is heavily considered to play part of the second reincarnation of Smart-Gilas.
Meanwhile,
Marc Agustin was never really a top star in college. He had the license to
shoot during his senior season only because of the fact that he’s a senior. He
was inconsistent in his scoring and he was not the star player.
But so
was Allein Maliksi.
... And
frankly... a lot more.
Petron
will have Dondon Hontiveros, Chris Lutz,
Joseph Yeo, Rey Guevarra, and Agustin. Among these five, Agustin is the
peskier defender with nothing to lose. Dondon has been healthy most of his
career but Yeo is often injury prone while Guevarra remains untested. Lutz will
shine in this season but just in case they need extra help, the former Adamson
Falcon must be ready. Agustin is tagged as a near-third round selection had not
for Shopinas’ extra pick and I think
Agustin is bound to make his presence felt.
But
then again, online reports buzzed that Lordy
Tugade has been released by the Shopinas.com
Clickers. Franz Pumaren has anointed freedom on the Alaminos Assassin and he is free to go to whatever team that yearns
for his services. The most likely scenario for Tugade is that either he will
return to the Petron Blaze Boosters where he played his last season (before
injuries struck)... or go to the former Air21
Express that is now the Barako Bull
Energy where the Lina people are
saying that they are rebuilding the tradition of the storied Red Bull
franchise. As people know, Tugade was a Red
Bull player since his PBL days and from the looks of things, the team is
poised to title contend.
If
Tugade “returns” to Barako then Agustin will have a slim chance to play for the
Boosters. I expect him to find his way to the system because The Atom Bomb will
find ways for his son to succeed. However, if he can’t find a way to succeed in
the roster spot he earned, expect the younger Agustin to unravel a hurtful
reality.
But
then again, maybe Marc Agustin can force the issue by his lonesome.
And he’ll
show the critics that he is not just the Atom Bomb’s son.
Game
over!
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