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Joe
Devance and LA Tenorio had 15 points apiece to power the
Alaska Aces past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters,
77-90, Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball
Association (PBA) Preseason Tournament at the Lyceum of
the Philippines Gym.
The
Aces, who went bigger this season with the acquisition
of Devance and Erwin Sotto, dominated the Elasto
Painters with their size and broke the game open in the
second half.
“Joe
brings a new dimension to the team,’ said Alaska coach
Tim Cone of Devance, who hardly made an impact with Rain
or Shine, the team that made him the No. 1 rookie pick
last year.
 Alaska
acquired Devance in exchange for No.3 rookie pick
Solomon Mercado and veteran wingman Eddie Laure, while
Sotto, a reliable six-foot-seven backup center, was
released by Air21 unconditionally.
Apparently, Devance feels more comfortable with his role
with the Aces. While he’s sure to be part of Alaska’s
starting unit, the six-foot-eight would not have to
worry about scoring a lot as he used to with Rain or
Shine, which built its team around him and made him its
franchise player.
Willie
Miller scored 14 points and Sonny Thoss added 12 for the
Aces, who will be going for their second victory in
Group A against the Purefoods TJ Giants on Monday at the
Arellano Gym.
A season
of adjustments and struggles for Barakos
Red Bull
coach Yeng Guiao sees the coming PBA wars as a season of
adjustments and struggle for his team.
The
Barakos are setting out with a modest goal of just
keeping their streak of consistent finishes in the Magic
Four as they’ve rebuilt the team, looking to start a new
era for the Photokina Marketing franchise.
Gone are
Mick Pennisi, Topex Robinson, Paolo Bugia, Mark Andaya
and Kiko Adriano, with Gabby Espinas, Paolo Hubalde,
Jeff Chan, Larry Rodriguez and Al Magpayo coming in to
take their spots.
“Mick [Pennisi]
was the last remaining pillar of the champion Red Bull
team. That era was over and we’re looking to start a new
one. We’re rebuilding again and looking for a fresh
start,” said Guiao.
The
holdovers from the 2007-08 Red Bull squad are Cyrus
Baguio, Celino Cruz, Warren Yvanez, Jojo Duncil, Leo
Najorda, Mike Hrabak, Carlo Sharma and Magnum Membrere.
In
Pennisi, the Barakos lost a six-foot-10 center-forward
who is a big asset on both ends of the court. Red Bull
gave up some inside strength and back-court leadership
on the exit of Bugia and Robinson, respectively.
“Kung
PBL ang laban, pang-championship ang
lineup namin,” Guiao said in jest.
“We’d
never had that many newcomers in the team since we
formed the original team. We’re practically starting
from scratch but we’re not giving up a goal of a
consistent finish in the semis. If we make it there,
lahat dun may equal chance nang pumasok sa
finals,” said Guiao seriously.
“It may
take years before we regain our old caliber, pero
tingin ko hindi kami basta-basta tatalunin,” Guiao
added.
Realtors
back from the US
STA.
LUCIA Realty is back from an eight-day training in the
United States, and coach Boyet Fernandez feels his
Realtors are now ready to defend their All-Filipino
crown.
The team
arrived Thursday and underwent more in-depth
conditioning and individual skills training at Boston
and New Hampshire.
Last
year the Realtors spent one month of training in Boston
under Kevin Barbosa, and it clearly paid off as they
went on to win the title against Purefoods. (With Joel
Orellana) |
