ACES WARY OF THE AXE
GLOBALPORT has some fresh history of futitility and is coming off a very bad loss.
Yet Alaska coach Luigi Trillo is by no means taking the Batang Pier lightly when the latter collide with his Aces 5:15 p.m. Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi has some qualms going into the match, citing unfamiliarity with Alaska’s current makeup.
“We don’t have the luxury of having scouted them samantalang kami napag-aralan na ng husto,” said Baculi, whose team is coming off a 74-94 blowout loss to Rain or Shine.
“Pero I’m sure they will show up with the same defensive intensity they displayed so well in the last conference. We must be able to at least match that,” added Baculi, aiming to steer his team from the cellar it has wound up in in its first two conferences.
Baculi and his staff could have scouted Alaska, but the Aces’ game against Talk N Text last Wednesday was cancelled due to the flooding and continuous inclement weather.
And Trillo has indeed done a thorough scouting of GlobalPort, including the Batang Pier’s 101-94 opening win against Air21 on opening day last week.
“Tough team,” was how Trillo summed his opponent up, specifically noting how new acquisition Jay Washington has fit in well with GlobalPort’s other notable players.
“They added a lot of firepower in Jay-Wash to complement their big three, Sol (Mercado), Gary (David) and Willie (Miller),” noted Trillo.
“Also, their complementary role players like (Marvin) Hayes, (Chad) Alonzo, (Mark) Yee and the others have given them a lot of energy while (Markeith) Cummings has added a lot of versatility.
“I see their progress. Coach Junel has them headed in the right direction.”
Alaska has its own well-stocked arsenal, led by import Wendell McKines, Calvin Abueva, Cyrus Baguio, Sonny Thoss, Jayvee Casio, Gabby Espinas and RJ Jazul, but Trillo is more concerned on how his team performs on the other end of the court.
“I’m more worried about our defense. We lost three pre-conference games by huge margins,” he stated. (NC)
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