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BARANGAY
Ginebra tries to get out of the rut, but it won’t be
that easy as it is scheduled to battle the vastly
improved Coca-Cola Tigers on Friday night in the ongoing
Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta
Conference.
Currently mired near the bottom of the standings with a
0-3 record, Ginebra bolstered its guard rotation with
the acquisition of defense specialist Junthy Valenzuela
in exchange for the Gin Kings second- and first-round
picks of the 2009 and 2010 Rookie Draft.
The
Welcoat Dragons are in the cellar with a 0-4 record.
Ginebra
coach Jong Uichico will again rely on his potent, but
seemingly out-of-sync, guard rotation composed of Mark
Caguioa, Ronald Tubid, Paul Artadi and Jay-Jay
Helterbrand and hopes to get more from frontliners Rafi
Reavis, new recruit Alex Crisano, Billy Mamaril and
seven-foot import Earnest Brown, the team‘s replacement
for the injured, but ineffective, Rashon Turner.
“There’s
no need to panic because we lost games which we feel
could be solved. I expect our import to improve more on
his game because the first time he played for us, he
just came off a long trip,” said Uichico.
The
Tigers, on the other hand, added more teeth to their
already imposing lineup by acquiring veteran Nic Belasco
in a midseason deal with Welcoat. Add to that the
two-import concession they got after finishing ninth
overall at the end of the elimination round of the
Philippine Cup.
After
scoring three straight wins, the Tigers got derailed
when they bowed to the unpredictable Air21 Express,
102-95, on Sunday that spoiled the debut of their second
import, George Gervin Jr., son of the legendary George
“The Iceman” Gervin.
Gervin
tallied impressive numbers (26 points, six rebounds,
three steals), but also committed crucial turnovers that
led to the Tigers’ first setback.
Gervin
replaced Calvin Cage, Coke’s five-foot-nine import who
sustained an ankle bone fracture after a bad fall late
in the third quarter in their victory against the Talk
’N Text Phone Pals on March 30 in Panabo, Davao del
Norte.
“Talk ‘N
Text is one of the strongest teams right now and our
game against them will be a test of our team’s
character,” said coach Boyet Fernandez.
Sta.
Lucia will again be led by prized-recruit Kelly
Williams, who’s been churning out MVP-type numbers and
is ably supported by another valued rookie Ryan Reyes,
veterans Dennis Espino, Marlou Aquino, Paolo Mendoza and
Dennis Miranda, and a revitalized Joseph Yeo.
In the
4:50 p.m. encounter, Philippine Cup champion Sta. Lucia
Realty hopes to continue its winning ways when it
battles Talk ‘N Text.
Sta.
Lucia is the only unbeaten team in the current
conference. It is coming-off a 101-97 victory over
Ginebra in an out-of-town game on Saturday in Tacloban
City. Previous to that, the Realtors defeated Magnolia,
88-86, and Alaska, 93-86.
Talk ‘N
Text, jammed in a four-way tie in the middle of the
standings with a 2-2 record, suffered a 91-86 thrashing
from Magnolia last Sunday. In that game, head coach Chot
Reyes was ejected halfway through the final quarter as
he was assessed two technical fouls for complaining. No
suspension was meted out by the commissioner’s office
for Reyes‘ infraction. |
