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Harbour
Centre has no less than four aces up its sleeves when it
guns for a record fifth straight Philippine Basketball
League (PBL) title.
With the
deadly duo of TY Tang and Solomon Mercado already
onboard, two more veteran stalwarts in the persons of
two-time league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jason Castro
and Jonathan Fernandez are bound to join the Batang Pier
roster, easily making the team’s backcourt rotation the
most dreaded in the season-ending Unity Cup that fires
off this Saturday at The Arena in San Juan.
Castro
and Fernandez, key players when Harbour Centre won the
championship of the same conference a year ago, were on
loaned with the Philippine men’s basketball team at a
time the Batang Pier pulled off the latest in their
string of four PBL title rings.
In their
absence, Tang and Mercado rose to the occasion, leading
the team to an inspiring series win Harbour Centre
capped by miraculously rallying from a 19-point deficit
in the decisive Game Three of the V-Go Extreme Cup
Finals and beat hard-luck Hapee Toothpaste in overtime.
The team
could just get even better with two of its regular
starters back in the fold.
“It’s a
case of four heads are better than two,” said Harbour
Centre owner Mikee Romero. “But seriously speaking, I
think with the return of Jason and Jonathan, our
backcourt has become more solid and steadier.”
Four
others from the national team are actually set to play
for the Batang Pier this conference—old-timers and
Harbour’s long-time brute forces Beau Belga and Chad
Alonzo, together with new acquisitions Jeff Chan and
Boyet Bautista.
With a
lineup already filled with league stars in the mold of
Dylan Ababou, Chester Taylor, Edwin Asoro, Al Vergara
and Jerwin Gaco, keeping the players happy is the single
daunting task that makes coach Jorge Gallent’s job a
difficult one. The other members of the team are Gilbert
Malabanan and Allan Gamboa.
Team
manager Erick Arejola is convinced Gallent can well take
care of the problem.
“How to
jell the team is really our concern right now. We’ve
just started practicing beginning this month, so
kumbaga sa basketball, medyo hindi pa
nagkaka-amuyan,” said the well-known son of equally
popular pelotari George Gallent.
“So we
had our team-building last week for the players to be at
ease with each other and, at the same time, know exactly
what their roles will be with the team.”
Tang,
adjudged Finals MVP last conference, agreed with his
mentor, stressing it’s a matter of the players
understanding their roles for them to be in the same
page with the rest of the team.
“I think
the bottom line is we’re all committed to winning. So
you have to identify what roles you will have to play
for the team. Kung rebounder ka, your job is more on
rebounding. Kung designated ball handler ka, then that’s
what you do,” said the former La Salle point guard,
playing in his final season in the amateurs.
To the
San Mig Coffee Kings belong the distinction of first
testing the mettle of the newly reinforced Batang Pier.
The two title contending teams clash early on in the
4 p.m. main game of this weekend’s double-header. |
