NEW COACH, SYSTEM UNDER MICROSCOPE
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel plays its first official game under a new coach when the Kings square off with the Alaska Aces in the PBA Governors’ Cup Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings hope to make a triumphant start under coach Frankie Lim, coming from a poor eighth-place finish in the recent Commissioner’s Cup.
Ginebra is practically starting all over again under a new system plus a lineup tweaked by the entry of Sol Mercado and Dave Marcelo in place of Billy Mamaril and Joseph Yeo.
Lim is hopeful their regular import Orlando Johnson and Asian recruit Sanchir Tungalag can provide instability for their team that has been hungry for a title for eight years now.
Johnson and Tungalag were signed up to shore up the team’s wing spots.
The former is a 6-foot-5 ex-Indiana Pacer and Sacramento King from UC Santa Barbara, a replacement for Oriene Greene who was terminated even before he could play one official game with the team.
Tungalag, on the other hand, is Mongolia’s top gun in the FIBA Asia Championship.
Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar remain Ginebra’s main men in the frontcourt while LA Tenorio, Jayjay Helterbrand, Josh Urbiztondo and Mark Caguioa are still the Kings’ lead forces at the backcourt.
The Kings, however, are likely to face a tough test right away in the tourney versus the Aces.
For one, they have to deal with import Romeo Travis who made good impression in leading the Aces to a 106-80 rout of Blackwater and import Marcus Douthit on Tuesday.
“He’s not the type of guy who will deliver 50 points but he frequently makes the right decision. He’s solid, he’s smart, he’s a good team player,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton of their import.
Alaska played with fire in its belly in its return from a mere sixth-place finish in the Commissioner’s Cup, thoroughly beating the Elite.
Travis and the Alaska locals came through with an efficient balanced game, negating Douthit’s game-highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds.
Travis debuted in the local pro loop with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Jvee Casio, Cyrus Baguio and Chris Banchero contributed at least 12 points each as the Aces dominated the Elite even more after a pair of 14-point triumphs in their face-offs in the Philippine Cup and in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The Aces pulled off the huge 26-point triumph without a help of an Asian reinforcement. Alaska is one of five teams that have opted to play with just regular imports.
“Our focus is developing our (local) guys,” said Compton. “It’s possible we’ll suffer without the benefit of an Asian import, but our focus really is to develop the guys for the longer picture.” (SB)
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