BATANG PIER EYE 3RD W IN A ROW
This time last year, Alaska was the upstart.
Still reeling from the departure of long-time mentor Tim Cone, the Aces were on their second conference with coach Luigi Trillo in a quest to return to relevancy.
A revamped lineup bannered by a combination of veterans in Cyrus Baguio, Sonny
Thoss and Dondon Hontiveros, as well as young guns in JV Casio, RJ Jazul, and the enigmatic Calvin Abueva, Alaska finally gained its ground as the the Aces barged into the semifinals of the Philippine Cup, which was then followed by a championship in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Now, its GlobalPort’s turn to be the upstart.
Flanked by the scoring binges of Terrence Romeo, the Batang Pier gained some notoriety under the tutelage of another young coach in Ritchie Ticzon. But in the past two games, all of which were wins, veterans Sol Mercado, Jay Washington, and Mark Yee, alongside rookies RR Garcia and Justin Chua stepped up for the Mikee Romero-owned franchise.
It remains to be seen if GlobalPort can achieve what Alaska did last season, but come Friday, the two teams will face off. Tip-off is at 5:45 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum .
The Batang Pier, fresh from their first franchise back-to-back wins at the expense of Meralco and Rain or Shine, is at an all-time high, more that the players are slowly getting the feel for each other’s game.
“They’re beginning to believe in the system and they’re understanding what our team wants to happen kaya sobrang ok namin ngayon,” Ticzon said, whose Batang Pier is sitting in the middle of the pack with an even 3-3 win-loss record.
“Our rookies are learning how to play in the PBA, and our veterans are stepping up being the leaders of the team,” he added. “Being one as a team – its coming into play already. I didn’t expect this to be this early, but wins make it easier for us to jell together.”
On the other hand, the Aces are still feeling the sting after an 86-85 heartbreaker of a loss to Petron Blaze last Saturday, but Trillo refused to pin the blame on the officiating after all of what has happened.
“We need to play better. I don’t want to make the referees as an excuse. We have to be a better team. We gave transition points and turnover points, close to 40. We need to play better in other facets of the game,” he said.
Last year’s Coach of the Year said that he is still proud of how his boys are doing despite their 2-4 card, given that the Aces have played their games up until the end.
“Three straight games, we have been battling. In our game against Barako Bull, we were up by 15, but it came down to the last possession. Talk ‘N Text, we missed some free throws in the end. This one (against Petron), it came down to the last play,” Trillo said.
“It’s a long tournament. For us, it’s far from over. But hopefully, we can maintain that and get some breaks.” (RL)
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