CAN two loaded and highly motivated teams finally bring home the bacon in the 41st season of the Philippine Basketball Association?
A title have been elusive for both Alaska and Barangay Ginebra in the past two seasons, but both are looking to finally deliver in the new season.
It’s been seven long years since the Gin Kings last won a championship and a drastic change was made to boost the team’s bid for that elusive crown.
Ginebra made arguably the biggest off-season move when it brought in Tim Cone, the winningest coach in PBA history, to steer the underachieving franchise to greater heights and deliver a possible championship.
‘’First, we want to get used to what we want, to run as a team and from there, we’re really hoping for favorable results for us,’’ said Cone, whose Kings didn’t even reach the finals in any of the three conferences last season despite a star-studded line-up. ‘’We now have a balanced and talented line-up and we’re looking to maximize what we have and achieve things.’’
Immediately upon taking over, Cone and the Ginebra management already made some minor changes to balance out the Gin Kings’ line-up.
Ginebra’s established stars Mark Caguioa, Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Jayjay Helterbrand, Chris Ellis and Sol Mercado are still going to be heavily relied upon, but they will get some help from a longtime ward of Cone in versatile point forward Joe Devance, whom the team acquired by a trade, who have won championships with the legendary mentor both in Alaska and in Star.
In addition, the team also has promising rookies Scottie Thompson, an NCAA Most Valuable Player, Aljon Mariano and Dennis Villamor, along with transferee Nico Salva, who are also expected to provide some contributions for Ginebra’s cause.
Alaska was so close yet so far last season from a championship. It made the finals both in the Philippine and Governors’ Cup before it folded to San Miguel Beer on both occasions, leaving it with more thirst for further glory.
While Ginebra made some significant overhauling, Alaska didn’t. The Aces kept their already in-sync core intact as they continue their pursuit for a crown.
Instead, it just upgraded its already talented core and the Aces know that it’s now about finishing the job completely to be able to win their first championship since 2013.
As expected, the longtime core of Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio, Jvee Casio, Calvin Abueva, Dondon Hontiveros and sophomore Chris Banchero will lead the charge and they will seek for even better results this season.
‘’Unlike other teams, we didn’t make any changes more or less. We believe that our intact team have enough tools to once again contend for a championship, but hopefully, we can go all the way this next season,’’ said Alaska coach Alex Compton.
The top rookie pick of the team in Letran star Kevin Racal is a nice addition to the already talented mix and will also be banked upon once he becomes available right after the NCAA season.