San Miguel Corporation Director of Sports and Special Assistant to the Office of the President Noli Eala said that they have formed a team under head coach Bobby Parks with the eye on the finals against the best of the ABL.
“I think Bobby will have his hands full but I’m confident of what he has formed with a competitive and exciting team,” said Eala in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
The former Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director said that the Beermen will definitely be in for a challenging season with defending champion Chang Thailand Slammers, Westport Malaysia Dragons and the country’s own and inaugural ABL champion AirAsia Philippine Patriots as the some of the teams to beat.
“The Patriots will always be a contender. But hopefully we will be in the finals this season,” he added.
The Beermen have prepared for that tough road building around their core with guard Chris Banchero, born to an Italian father but was raised in Seattle, Washington, and highly-touted six-foot-10 Cebuano center Jun Mar Fajardo leading the team.
Also in the line-up are Froilan Baguion, Allan Mangahas, former NCAA MVP Kelvin Dela Pena, RJ Rizada, Jun Jun Cabatu, Hafer Mondragon, Norman Gonzales, Jan Colina, Christian Luanzon, Neil Raneses and Marlon Basco.
Former PBA imports Dalron Johnson and Richard Jeter will also serve as reinforcements for the Beermen this season.
Eala spoke highly about their two big recruits in Banchero and Fajardo.
“Chris can shoot the ball and deliver passes crisply. He is a guy that we have been looking at even during the SMART-Gilas days. We are fortunate that Chris agreed to join us,” said Eala.
“Who can deny that Jun Mar is the future of Philippine basketball? He had 24 points and 24 rebounds against San Beda in the PCCL, which is nothing to sneeze at. Lumakas ang team dahil nagkaroon kami ng post presence,” said Eala.
Even with the team’s ability to score, Parks said that his team will be built around defense although he admits that they still have to work on their chemistry.
“Most players can score the basketball. What I’m building right now is defense and having these two young players (Banchero and Fajardo) helps. But we have to develop chemistry and it’s still hard to know how far we can go this season,” said Parks, a seven-time PBA Best Import.
“We are going to be fun to watch,” the six-foot-one Banchero said. “We run but our focus is on defense.”
But the team’s chemistry will surely develop, as the Beermen will be among the teams that will compete in Bangkok for a fund-raising activity called “To Be No. 1 Basketball Challenge.”
“We are still trying to develop the on-court and off-court togetherness of the team and this trip is going to be good for us to find the character of this team,” Parks said.
The Beermen will open their season against the Westports Malaysia Dragons on January 14 at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
source by Reuben Terrado, InterAKTV
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