Basketball
2011-12 PBA preview: How will Alaska cope with life after Tim Cone?
PBA/Nuki Sabio
Coach: Joel Banal
Assistants: Dickie Bachmann, Luigi Trillo, Jojo Lastimosa
Lineup: Julius Pasculado, Cyrus Baguio, Jay-R Reyes, LA Tenorio, Sonny Thoss, Mac Baracael, Eric Salamat, Bonbon Custodio, Paolo Bugia, Brandon Cablay, Ariel Mepana, Samigue Eman, Wesley Gonzales, Tony dela Cruz
Perhaps no other franchise had a more volatile offseason than Alaska, which parted ways with Tim Cone after 22 years. Longtime assistant Joel Banal has stepped in to try and fill Cone’s shoes.
“I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity,” said Joel Banal. “Now that I’ve been given a chance, we want to continue the values and learning this organization had given us.”
Four new players – all of them rookies – will give the Aces a new sheen, even as LA Tenorio, Sonny Thoss and Tony dela Cruz will resume their leadership role on the squad.
The rookies are headed by Mac Baracael, the team’s first-round draft pick. Second-rounders Eric Salamat, Julius Pasculado, and Ariel Mepana round out the team’s cast of newbies.
Baracael is coming off a three-year stint with the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team. Salamat, a combo guard, made his name as a key cog of three Ateneo championships.
Pasculado, a Filipino-American, impressed a lot of people during the Rookie Camp, while Mepana is a bruising frontliner from Cebu who played for Alaska assistant Luigi Trillo’s Cebuana Lhuillier squad in the D-League.
The team lost the services of swingman Mark Borboran, who failed to come to terms with Alaska.
Outlook: With Tenorio and Thoss, Alaska has elite talent at the point guard and center positions, traditionally the hardest spots to fill in any PBA team. But for the past year, Alaska’s problem has been depth, especially with the trade of do-everything forward Joe Devance late last season. Players like Jay-R Reyes, Samigue Eman, and Bonbon Custodio have been inconsistent at best and maddening at worst.
One has to wonder if Banal is a better fit for this team than Cone. Unlike the American mentor, Alaska’s new coach isn’t as dogmatic about the triangle offense, and would allow his players to freelance more. A more open system might just bring out more from guys like Tenorio, Cyrus Baguio, and Custodio, who are among the best players in the league at creating off the dribble.
Custodio, in particular, might be the single worst fit for the triangle offense of any guard in the league. But he’s talented, and when he’s got it going, he could be downright electric.
Alaska can match up with any team in the league when it comes to the frontcourt. With Thoss, Eman, and Reyes, they have more than enough size, while the entry of Baracael gives the team a versatile defender who knows how to guard bigger men because of his international experience. Baracael, with his three-point range, should also complement Tenorio, Thoss, and Baguio nicely.
Because he’s ready for the pros, Baracael should eventually start at the four-spot vacated by Devance for Alaska, and with the team’s lack of depth, he should be able to soak up minutes at both forward spots. The former FEU forward could be a dark horse for the Rookie of the Year award, especially if Alaska’s run goes deep into the playoffs.
The most intriguing among the other rookies is Mepana, a physical bruiser who has a surprisingly good offensive game. His game is reminiscent of former Alaska forward Reynel Hugnatan, and if he could get an opportunity amid the Aces’ crowded frontcourt, he might turn out to be a sleeper.
