|
IT will
be a battle of last season’s champion teams as
All-Filipino titlist Sta. Lucia Realty takes on Fiesta
Conference winner Barangay Ginebra in the KFC-Philippine
Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup tonight at
the Araneta Coliseum.
The
Realtors and the Kings collide at 7:30 p.m. right after
the opening tussle between Purefoods Tender Juicy and
Red Bull at 5 p.m.
Just
like last season, the Realtors toughened up their lineup
by undergoing rigorous training under conditioning coach
Kevin Barbosa abroad.
 “We
learned more techniques under coach Kevin which we are
actually applying now in our practices,”said Realtors
coach Boyet Fernandez.
Fernandez said the team remains intact and likes to
consider that his team has matured rather than say that
his players have gotten older after one season.
“I’m
confident with our veteran players that they can still
deliver. They showed that during our US training,” said
Fernandez.
Sta.
Lucia is bringing an intact lineup with rookie draftee
Kelvin Gregorio (10th pick overall) being the only
addition to the Realtors, who also played against
American team Manchester Millrats in New Hampshire.
Fernandez said his team can still depend on old hands
Dennis Espino, Paolo Mendoza and Marlou Aquino, who
celebrated his 36th birthday on Tuesday. Most Valuable
Player Kelly Williams, last season’s Rookie of the Year
Ryan Reyes and the ever-improving Joseph Yeo are slowly
taking the lead from their elders on the team.
The
Realtors are looking to become the first team in 24
years and the third in league history to win
back-to-back All-Filipino titles.
The
now-defunct Great Taste did the trick in 1984 and 1985.
Incidentally, the Realtors entered the league by
acquiring the Gokongwei franchise in 1992. Crispa is the
only other team to score back-to-back All-Filipino
triumphs.
The Gin
Kings, meanwhile, will still miss superstar Mark Caguioa
who is still in the US. Ginebra coach Jong Uichico said
Caguioa is expected to be back at least by next month.
He is still undergoing therapy for his torn patellar
tendons in both knees.
In last
season’s Philippine Cup, Caguioa also missed the first
six games because of a shoulder injury he suffered while
playing for the national team when it competed in the
International Basketbal Federation (Fiba) Asia qualifer
for the Beijing Oiympics in Tokushima, Japan.
Also
about to miss a few more games also because of injuries
are Raffi Reavis, Billy Mamaril and Junthly Valenzuela.
“Our
concern is to avoid having a bad start just like last
season. We’re hoping that, eventually, we can get
healthy,” said Uichico. “It’s so hard to come back from
0-5. We actually just got lucky to run a streak after
that last conference.”
Ginebra
hopes to reclaim the Philippine Cup crown which it
copped during the 2006-07 season by defeating sister
team and the Chot Reyes-mentored San Miguel Beer.
Just
like Sta. Lucia, Ginebra did not tinker with its lineup
and only added free agent Jun-Jun Cabatu. Cabatu, son of
former PBA player Sonny Cabatu, was released by Alaska
during the off-season. |
