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THE
Welcoat Dragons are just about ready to spew fire in the
33rd season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)
this coming October.
Head
coach Leo Austria told BusinessMirror his players are
upbeat about their chances of at least gaining headway
on their second year after completing their first full
year by being the league’s favorite whipping boys.
Austria
said the addition of top rookie pick Joe de Vance would
give their post position a much-needed boost that was
manned last season by rookie Jay-Ar Reyes.
“Sabi
ko nga he’s a complete package and its good na
mukhang ganado talaga siyang maglaro sa amin,” said
Austria.
Although
he still has to come to terms with Welcoat management,
the 25-year-old de Vance yesterday wanted to drop by at
the Dragons’ practice session and do some shooting
drills with assistant coach and one-time Dragons import
Alex Compton.
“Gigil
na ngang maglaro pero sabi ko ayusin niya muna ’yung
kontrata para formality na din,” said
Austria
“With that kind of attitude I’m sure maganda ang
magiging tandem nila ni Jay-Ar.”
Austria
said management is poised to give de Vance, one-time
Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Basketball League
(PBL) while playing for
Toyota,
the maximum allowable salary for rookies at P150,000
excluding bonuses.
Austria,
the league’s first Rookie of the Year awardee while
playing for the now-defunct Pilipinas Shell franchise in
1985, welcomes the addition of veteran forward Nic
Belasco who was dealt to them by Alaska for incoming
sophomore Jun Jun Cabatu.
Austria
revealed that Welcoat gained the rights to the
33-year-old Belasco who is now a restricted free agent
after his pact with
Alaska expired last July.
Welcoat
will be Belasco’s fourth team since joining the league
in 1997 via Pop Cola where he played for two seasons.
Belasco,
currently vacationing in the United States, made his
mark as a potent power forward when he played for San
Miguel for six years then was again dealt to Alaska in
2005.
“We were
approached by
Alaska
and offered Nic. Sabi ko, why not? Malaking
addition siya sa amin kasi aside from his
experience makakatulong siya sa mga bata namin,”
disclosed Austria. “’Yung rights pa lang kay
Belasco ang nakuha namin but I’m hoping that the
management can eventually sign him up.”
Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio in a separate interview,
told BusinessMirror that he is impressed with the way
the Dragons used their picks in last Sunday’s event held
at the Market! Market! in Taguig City.
“Nakakatakot
ang buildup ng Welcoat. de Vance pretty much
can do so many things inside the court and combined with
Jay-Ar Reyes, sky’s the limit as far as ’yung
tinatawag nating improvement nila.”
Austria
added de Vance and their 12th pick overall Ryan Araña
will be part of their nucleus in their bid to gain
respectability in the league.
The
coming season starts October 14. |
