AFTER bringing down three potential contenders, the Alaska Aces have also left an indelible mark that speaks well of how they intend to wrap up their campaign in the 2009-10 KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.

But while he is optimistic about their ability to clinch the franchise’s fifth All-Filipino crown, coach Tim Cone contends they are taking it one game at a time and making sure they don’t lose their focus.

THE Philippines was drawn into a tough group in the International Basketball Federation (Fiba)-Asia U16 Championship set later this month in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

The Philippine youth team, coached by Eric Altamirano, was bracketed with Kazakhstan and Japan, the second and fourth placers, respectively, in their respective zones. Also in Group B is Gulf subzone U16 champions Bahrain.

“It’s a tough bracket,” Altamirano told the BusinessMirror on Thursday. Altamirano is with the Nokia-backed under-16 team in a four-day tournament in Cebu City.

“We need to be at least in the top two to enter into the next round. It’s really tough but it’s doable,” he added.

Add those numbers and Team Philippines would be a 386-strong delegation that would compete in 22 of the 25 sports on the Laos program. The 25-sports program is conspicuously a far cry from the 40 or more sports that were on the programs of the 2005 (Philippines) and 2007 (Thailand) editions. Brunei played host for the first time in 1999 and also had 22 on its program.

Also, the POC has added four more athletes on the roster, which is topped by 34 athletes in aquatics (16 swimming, 13 water polo and five diving) and 20 in athletics.