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Jason
Castro will be in
Singapore.
His other star teammates will be leaving for the
Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Others also
have suitors from pro teams.
It’s
time for the rest of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL)
to breathe a sigh of relief in the impending breakup of
the unbeatable Harbour Centre dynasty.
Wrong.
The core
of the Batang Pier team that has won the last five
tournaments in the last two-and-a-half years will be
dispersed but even before the last bottle of champagne
is uncorked in the celebration of the franchise’s title
No. 5 Wednesday, new pieces are already being put in
place that will make sure Harbour doesn’t miss a beat.
Ateneo
gunner Chris Tiu has given his word to play for the
Batang Pier and La Salle’s Rico Maierhofer, one of
college’s most sought-after big men, is also expected to
suit up for Harbour when the next season begins.
Sigh of
relief for the other teams? It sounds more like a sigh
of frustration.
“I’ve
always believed that we could get new talents from the
collegiate leagues and we could train them and develop
them,” said Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero, whose
wards defeated Hapee Toothpaste, 86-73, Wednesday to win
the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup in four games.
“Basketball is about recruitment. I think we can still
form a competitive team next season,” said Harbour
Centre coach Jorge Gallent.
Tiu, who
will play his last season for the Blue Eagles in
college, has become a perimeter dead-shot. Romero said
that the six-foot-two guard guaranteed him that he would
“only play for Harbour Centre in the PBL.”
Maierhofer is considered one of the most promising
centers from the University Athletic Association of the
Philippines. He will try to fill in the vacancy that
will be left by center Beau Belga and bruisers Chad
Alonzo and Jerwin Gaco, who are all looking forward to
playing in the pros.
Tiu,
meanwhile, will have big shoes to fill at the guard
spot. Castro is a three-time Most Valuable Player and
his superb play has him going to the Australian National
Basketball League in a milestone stint.
The
other guards on the team—speedy TY Tang and versatile
Sol Mercado—will be applying for the PBA draft.
“We’ve
been in this situation before and it’s normal that you
lose players but there will be other players coming in
to take their spots. As I said, it’s all about
recruitment,” said Gallent.
The
Batang Pier won’t be relying solely on recruits. They’ll
have youthful holdovers as well, with sharpshooter
Jonathan Fernandez and Edwin Asoro returning, as well as
the ever-improving Dylan Ababou.
“What I
really like about this team is the fact that we were
able to develop players like Jason and Jeff [Chan],”
Romero, the incoming PBL chairman, said.
“I think
they were able to maximize their potential while they
played for us. At the same time,” he added, “we’ve both
benefited from that and we’re happy with how things have
panned out.”
Going
for seven?
THE
Batang Pier’s fifth championship put the franchise in
third spot in the PBL champions’ list, behind Tanduay’s
seven and Welcoat Paints’ six.
But
Romero still has fond memories of the first
championship.
“I have
the same feeling in each of our title but, of course,
the first would be very special,” said the Harbour
owner, referring to the 2006 second conference where the
Batang Pier beat Louie Alas and Toyota Otis for the
crown.
Romero
admitted the team’s fourth championship, which also came
at Hapee’s expense in the last Christmas season, was the
most challenging because “we had players that time who
were loaned to the national team for the Southeast Asian
Games.”
“This
one is historic for us,” Romero added. “But I really
think the players are still challenged [to achieve
more].”
He
admitted that a roster that was both strong and solid
had an upside and a downside. It gave Harbour Centre
versatility and depth, obviously, but it also raised the
bar of expectations.
“There
was really pressure for us to win it all because of the
lineup we had, but champions aren’t won because you’re
strong on paper. We had to work hard, too,” Romero
continued.
In the
team celebration in a restaurant in Santo Tomas,
Batangas, the youthful owner asked to confirm a
statistic.
“Tanduay
had seven championships, right?”
Romero
didn’t elaborate. It looks like Harbour Centre is
setting its mind on one lofty goal.
And this
early, the rest of the league looks like they’re in
trouble. |
