The Final Score: In Alaska, familiarity breeds success
MICO HALILI
10/26/2009 | 07:53 PM
It’s a new season. It’s time to discard the old and flaunt the new. Like grade school students eager to start school with new leather shoes, most PBA teams show-off new acquisitions to start the season. Burger King unveils Japeth Aguilar (then unloads him faster than you can spell Japeth). San Miguel welcomes Arwind Santos. Unlike teams which had off-season make-overs, the Aces enter the tournament with the same coach, same system, same stars and same winning ways.
In the October 25 showdown between Alaska and Ginebra for instance, the Aces beat Ginebra, not with new recruits, but with familiar faces. Seven-year veteran Reynel Hugnatan leads the Aces with 20 points and eight rebounds off-the-bench. Hugnatan not only single-handedly but “double-handedly" subdues Ginebra’s repeated rallies in the second half. The ambidextrous Hugnatan puzzles Ginebra’s defense with left-handed (he is naturally left-handed) and right-handed moves.
Aside from Hugnatan, seven-year veteran John Ferriols, five-year pro Larry Fonacier and 14-year combatant Jeffrey Cariaso lead Alaska’s second unit with shrewd efficiency. In contrast, Ginebra’s bench, bolstered by the acquisition of Celino Cruz and Rich Alvarez, struggles to sustain the output of its first unit. Like a rock band with new members, Ginebra appears out-of-tune at times. Alaska, on the other hand, follows a rhythm that is second-nature.
Alaska, I feel, plays out like a Barry Manilow song. Timeless. Classic. Twenty years from now, "Mandy" will still make grown men cry and Alaska’s triangle offense, assuming they’re still competing in the PBA under Tim Cone, will still drive opposing coaches nuts. I suppose Cone likes it that way. It’s a system he fell in love with when he used to study VHS tapes of Chicago Bulls games two decades ago. It’s a system that allows him and the Aces to stay on top of the game.
While other teams overhaul lineups and change coaches as often as Lady Gaga changes costumes, Alaska enjoys sporting the same winning look over and over again. After all, Alaska’s the only PBA team that has had the same coach for the last 20 years. The Philippines has had Cory, FVR, Erap and PGMA. Alaska has had Tim. He’s really the Jerry Sloan of the PBA. Only Sloan doesn’t have 12 championships.
Cone also surrounds himself with people who “grew up" with the organization. Many 1996 “Alaska Grand Slam “alumni are still around. Cariaso started his career with Alaska in 1995 and now plays the fourth quarter of his career with the very same team. Joaqui Trillo, Joel Banal, Dickie Bachmann, Jojo Lastimosa and even trainer Gus Vargas are still clad in Alaska red and white.
So while other PBA superpowers break-in shiny new weapons, Alaska (4-0) now leads the race with the same coach, same system, same stars and same winning ways. Let’s face it. The Aces are as resilient as Cone, as dependable as a Hugnatan jump-hook, as reliable as a Miller jumper in the fourth quarter and as bankable as an old Barry Manilow love song. – GMANews.TV
In the October 25 showdown between Alaska and Ginebra for instance, the Aces beat Ginebra, not with new recruits, but with familiar faces. Seven-year veteran Reynel Hugnatan leads the Aces with 20 points and eight rebounds off-the-bench. Hugnatan not only single-handedly but “double-handedly" subdues Ginebra’s repeated rallies in the second half. The ambidextrous Hugnatan puzzles Ginebra’s defense with left-handed (he is naturally left-handed) and right-handed moves.
Aside from Hugnatan, seven-year veteran John Ferriols, five-year pro Larry Fonacier and 14-year combatant Jeffrey Cariaso lead Alaska’s second unit with shrewd efficiency. In contrast, Ginebra’s bench, bolstered by the acquisition of Celino Cruz and Rich Alvarez, struggles to sustain the output of its first unit. Like a rock band with new members, Ginebra appears out-of-tune at times. Alaska, on the other hand, follows a rhythm that is second-nature.
Alaska, I feel, plays out like a Barry Manilow song. Timeless. Classic. Twenty years from now, "Mandy" will still make grown men cry and Alaska’s triangle offense, assuming they’re still competing in the PBA under Tim Cone, will still drive opposing coaches nuts. I suppose Cone likes it that way. It’s a system he fell in love with when he used to study VHS tapes of Chicago Bulls games two decades ago. It’s a system that allows him and the Aces to stay on top of the game.
Tim Cone
While other teams overhaul lineups and change coaches as often as Lady Gaga changes costumes, Alaska enjoys sporting the same winning look over and over again. After all, Alaska’s the only PBA team that has had the same coach for the last 20 years. The Philippines has had Cory, FVR, Erap and PGMA. Alaska has had Tim. He’s really the Jerry Sloan of the PBA. Only Sloan doesn’t have 12 championships.
Cone also surrounds himself with people who “grew up" with the organization. Many 1996 “Alaska Grand Slam “alumni are still around. Cariaso started his career with Alaska in 1995 and now plays the fourth quarter of his career with the very same team. Joaqui Trillo, Joel Banal, Dickie Bachmann, Jojo Lastimosa and even trainer Gus Vargas are still clad in Alaska red and white.
So while other PBA superpowers break-in shiny new weapons, Alaska (4-0) now leads the race with the same coach, same system, same stars and same winning ways. Let’s face it. The Aces are as resilient as Cone, as dependable as a Hugnatan jump-hook, as reliable as a Miller jumper in the fourth quarter and as bankable as an old Barry Manilow love song. – GMANews.TV
