Libre PBA Hard Court Action 27 May 2013

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INTENSELA Tenorio ofBarangay Ginebra(right) makes lifeharder for the

driving SkyrusBaguio of Alaska.AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Fans troop tothe GAMES

page 3

Alaskas

ROBDOZIER

wins BobbyParks trophy

page 4

ExpectLA

TENORIO

to bouncebackpage 6

VOL. 1 NO. 4 MAY-JUNE 2013www.libre.com.ph

REDEMPTION

for coach LuigiTrillo page 7

TRILLO

RICHARD REYES

FinalsMVP ThossPROUD

DADDY

page 2

THOSS


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HARD FOULALASKAs The Beast gets a hard foul from Mark Caguioa ofBarangay Ginebra. MOA arena AUGUST DELA CRUZ

PROUD GIANTPBA Commissioners CupFinals MVP Joachim Thossproudly shows his plaquewhile carrying sonAiden. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Thoss dedicatesMVP to AidenBy Randolph B. Leongson

W

ITH three ringsin tow, whatmakes this

2013 PBA Commission-ers Cup championshipsweeter for 6-foot-7center JoachimSonny Thoss? Theanswer might sur-prise you.

It was special be-cause I was able to en-

joy the c hampionshipwith my son, said

Thoss, who had his one-year and nine-month-oldson Aiden in his arms

when he was awarded theFinals MVP trophy.

The Finals MVP is an icingon the cake. All of us areMVPs, he said, who was takenby the Alaska franchise as thefifth overall pick in the 2004PBA Draft fresh from JamesCook University in NorthQueensland, Australia.

The 31-year-old center knewthere was something specialwith the team after entering thesemifinals for the first time inthe post-Tim Cone era lastPhilippine Cup. And lo and be-hold, they won their first titleunder the guidance of coachLuigi Trillo.

That was a big surprise foreverybody. It was a goal that we

wanted, but were just happythat we won the championshipand it just made clear that we

can win with this team, saidthe Papua New Guinea-bornThoss. His Filipino roots comefrom his mother Jesusa, who is

with his father, Gunther, a re-tired German construction

worker, in th eir home in Talisay,Cebu.

Upon learning the departureof Cone in 2011, the man whomolded him to the player thathe is now, Thoss knew there isonly one way to cope with this.

You ju st ha ve to a cce ptt h e s e t h i n g s . P l a y e r s a n dcoaches, they come and go.

You just have to be pa-

tient. Nothing comes easy andwe h ave to make adjustments.We all have to adjust togetherand that takes time.

And that time came thisconference. Bragging an 11-3record at the end of the elim-inations, good for the num-ber one seed, the Aces

cruised past through thecompetition but lost one

last time to the Cone-mentored San Mig Cof-fee, then methodicallyswept the BarangayGinebra San Miguel,

with The Boss averag-ing a double-double in the

tune of his 14 points and 10 re-bounds in the best-of-five series.

Thoss now sets his sights toearn a spot in the Gilas Pilipinasnational team, where he is amember of the professional pool

who will represent the countryin the 2013 Fiba Asia Champi-onship here in Manila from Au-

gust 1 to 11.Although he h as been select-

ed four times in the MythicalSelection and has been an All-Star for 10 consecutive years,Thoss still acknowledges thatthere are still things he has tolearn.

When you play, you have tolearn every day. Every day is alearning experience. The day

you st op learning, you sho uldntbe here anymore. You keep on

learning, you keep on betteringyourself. That is my goal.

The Beast

hates the hatersSNUBBED twice - first in theBest Player of the Conferencerace, and second in the Fi-nals MVP award - Calvin

Abuevas haters must be oncloud nine.

But who is it at the end ofthe night that carried his sonon one arm and held the2013 PBA CommissionersCup trophy on the other? Itsno other than Calvin Abuevahimself.

Mag-hate lang sila ngmag-hate! Basta ako, gagaw-in ko lang ang best ko paramakatulong sa team, the po-larizing San Sebastian alum-nus said to the record-break-ing 23,436 fans in atten-dance on their series-clinch-ing Game 3 win at the Smart

Araneta Coliseum. Ngayonna champion pa kami, di na-man ako na-aapektuhan samga sinasabi nila, salita langnaman yun.

With the coliseum almostdivided in half in terms of the

Alaska and Ginebra faithfuls, itis where The Beast thrive thebest. He is the most basic ex-ample of the love him-or-hatehim player in Philippine bas-ketball today.

Unfortunately for hishaters, Abueva can now becalled a champion. And thatsa motivation the do-it-all for-

ward looks to pounce on forthe coming years.

Mas lumalakas pa ngaako sa kaka-hate nila.

Randolph B. Leongson

MAY-JUNE 2013


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PBA ON THE UPSWING

Title-series drawsrecord attendance

Credit the leagues amazingcrowd-pulling charm todeath-defying action by

Alaskas Calvin Abueva, th esudden burst of speed by LATenorio or even the controver-sial whistles of the referees.

All in all, t hough, the fansshelled out their hard-earnedcash because they believed inthe pureness of the games. Itremains true to this day that

Asias first play-for-pay leaguemakes the sweltering massestemporarily forget their prob-lems.

PBA Commissioner ChitoSalud, whose low-key but firmapproach to the managementof the league, expressed hisgratitude to the public. The

soft-spoken Salud knows thatthe PBA owes it success to themix of sweaty fans in thebleachers and the lucky few inthe ringsides.

We have to continue tostrive harder to earn the pub-lics trust and belief that ourplayers and member-teamsare genuinely responding tothe call for excellence andaccountability, said Salud,

who is being backed by atime-tested support group.

The PBA, stressed Salud,must uphold the interest ofthe fans at all times by deliv-ering high-caliber and credibleproduct that meets, if not ex-ceeds, our fans and stake-holders expectations.

Numbers will not lie.

During Game Three of theCommissioners Cup finalsbetween the Aces and Kings,a new all-time attendancerecord was achieved. No lessthan 23,436 roaring fanscame to the jampackedSmart-Araneta Coliseum tocheer for their favorite PBAteams.

This was the second timein 11 days that the all-timehigh for attendance wasshattered. The May 9 playdate attracted 23,108 fansduring the semi-finals of theconference which also in-cluded both Alaska andGinebra.

Salud isnt stopping. Heknows the fans must be pam-pered.

We are inspired to domore, said Salud.

Indeed, its more fun inthe PBA.

Alexx M. Esponga

By Dennis U. Eroa

MAKE no mistake about it. The PBA is onthe upswing as proven by record-breakingattendance during the Commissioners

Cup finals.

STANDING ROOM ONLYTHE PBA attracts record crowds during the PBA Commissioners Cup final series between Alaska andGinebra. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MAY-JUNE 2013


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Now, I canfinally say thatIm achampion, hesaid. Its agreat feeling to

win this (BestImport trophy)

SILENTRob Dozier grabs therebound. RODEL ROTONI

ALASKAS ROB DOZIER

Award made in heavenBy Randolph B. LeongsonH

OW fitting is it that the first recipient of thenewly renamed Bobby Parks Best Import awardfor the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup played

on the same college the late great has played for?A proud product of the Uni-

versity of Memphis, Alaska'sRobert Dozier suited for the

Memphis Tigers, the same teamParks played for in his colle-giate years from 1980 to 1984.

Alongside 2011 NBA MV PDerrick Rose, Dozier started forthe Tigers in the 2008 NCAAmen's basketball tourney, butfell short after bowing to theKansas Jayhawks in the Finals.

After being drafted 60th bythe Miami Heat at the 2009NBA Draft, the 6-foot-9 slotmanbounced around Europe, play-ing in Greece and Spain before

landing in the Philippines as thefourth-choice import for a

young Alaska Aces team.

Fast forward to Game 3 ofthe best-of-three Finals seriesbetween Alaska and Ginebra,and here is the 27-year-oldhoisting a trophy held by hisfellow Memphis alumni for arecord seven times. It was a no-brainer as the tireless Aces rein-forcement from Lithonia, Geor-gia ran away with the award,garnering 1,233 votes overGinebra's Vernon Macklin, who

was distant second with only926 votes.

Forty-eight more minutes ofplaying time over, and Dozier fi-nally claimed his part in the his-tory books. His 27 points, 20 re-bounds, and Finals-high six-block performance is more thanenough to power Alaska in thethree-game sweep, giving thefranchise its 14th title in theleague.

Now, I can finally say thatI'm a champion, he said. It's agreat feeling to win this (BestImport trophy).

Dozier might not haveknown or met Parks personallybefore the latter bid this worldgoodbye, but maybe somewherein the heavens, this is whatParks wanted to happen tohave somebody from his almamater claim the first BobbyParks Best Import hardware.

Aces all MVPs ThossBy Dennis U. Eroa

JOACHIM (Sonny) Thoss,whose towering presence insidethe paint, tormented BarangayGinebra in the PBA Commis-sioners Cup title series, said

winning th e Finals MVP doesntmake him a cinch to make theGilas Pilipinas lineup.

Its a big honor playing forthe national team. I mean, howmany Filipinos are playing bas-

ketball. To make it the final 12 isa tremendous honor not only forme but to my family, said the 6-foot-7 Thoss in an exclusive in-terview with INQUIRER LIBRE.

Thoss, a four-time PBA myth-ical team member, said that heis excited to join the Gilas prac-tices.

Theres Marcus (Douthit),Japeth (Aguilar), Greg (Slaugh-ter) and Junemar (Fajardo).Coach Chot Reyes has the final

say and will put the pieces to-gether, Thoss said. He said hesdelighted that the national teamseeing action in the Fiba-Asiafrom August 1-11 can boast ofbig men.

I pity Marcus before. Hewas being battered inside, saidthe 31-year-old Thoss, who wasborn in Papua New Guinea. Hisfather Gunther is a retired Ger-man construction worker wholives with his mother Jesusa inTalisay, Cebu City.

Meanwhile, Thoss praisedthe substitutes for the Aces tri-umphant campaign in the Com-missioners Cup.

Paolo (Bugia), Nio (Gelig),Benedict (Fernandez), Nic (Be-lasco), Eddie (Laure) and Sam

(Eman) outworked us. Theyembarassed the first group dur-ing practices, said Thoss.

Drafted number five by theAces in 2004, Thoss said he hadthe bigger numbers during thefinals but all his teammates

were so hungry to win the titlethat they are all MVPs. He aver-aged 14 points and 10 reboundsduring the series.

The Finals MVP is an icingon the cake. All of us are

MVPs, said Thoss.

MAY-JUNE 2013

Editor in ChiefChito dF. dela Vega

Desk editors

Dennis U. EroaFrancis OchoaRomel M. Lalata

Graphic artistRitche S. Sabado

Telephone No.:(632) 897-8808

connecting all departments

Fax No.:(632) 897-4793/897-4794

E-mail:[email protected]

Advertising:(632) 897-8808 loc. 530/532/534

All rights reserved. Subject to the conditionsprovided for by law, no article

or photograph published byINQUIRER LIBRE may be reprinted or repro-

duced, in whole or in part,without its prior consent.

PBA-Libre Hard Court Action is a joint undertakingof INQUIRER LIBRE and the PBA.

Willie O. Marcial- PBA Media Bureau ChiefRickie B. Santos - PBA Operations DirectorRhose G. Montreal- Business Development Director


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RIVALRYExpect LA

Tenorio, heartand soul of theGin Kings, tobounce back.Alaskasparkplug JVCasio (left) onthe attack.

AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Tenorios the one!

MAY-JUNE 2013

By Alexx Esponga

THERE could only be one. The buzzer sounded inthe 4th quarter of the PBA Finals. It was over,the Alaska Aces proved they were the better

men against the Barangay Ginebra Kings as they sealedthis conference as champions.

It was like a bitter pill for theKings, especially for LA Tenorioto swallow. The sweep washeartbreaking.

When the Kings were on theirway t o t he dug out w hile theAces celebrated in the middle ofthe court, bagging all the atten-tion, one faithful Ginebra fan,

with a ball and pen in hand, ap-proached the star point guard.

Idol, pwede po bang pa-pir-ma? said the teary-eyed, star-struck kid.

Though filled with pain,Tenorio without any hesitations,

grabbed the ball and signed it.He responded with a smile andalso entertained as many fans ashe could.

With or without a champi-onship in hand, for the fans, cri-tiques and even in Philippinebasketball itself, there could on-ly be one LA Tenorio indeed.

Tenorio, who was named the2012-2013 Commissioners CupBest Player of the Conference,says that he owes everything tohis teammates, coaches andfans.

He [Tenorio], who averaged

13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1assists and 1.9 steals earnedmost of the votes from the me-dia with 475 with 75 and 150from the players and PBA offi-cials, respectively.

Though the Gin Kings werentable to grab the victory, Tenoriois still thankful that they fin-ished in second place after com-ing from a 0-4 record whenMark Caguioa was injured.

Kahit hindi kami nag-cham-

pion, malaking achievement narin para sa akin ang nag-secondplace kami, said the 58 Teno-rio.

No matter what life bringshim, he will always look at thepositive side and just play hisheart out in every game, contin-uing to raise the banner of thered and white as high as hecould.

Casios sweetestBy Alexx Esponga

DREAM comes true.At some point, every basket-

ball player had their owndreams of playing in thebiggest professional league inthe country, the PBA.

And Alaska ace playmaker

JV Casio wasnt an exemptionto that.

Noong bata ako, lagikong naiisip na maglaro saPBA, Casio said. Kapagnanonood ako ng PBA dati,sinabi ko sa sarili ko nabalang araw, maglalaro dinako at magiging champion.

True enough, Casio is a manof his own words. He enteredthe jampacked Big Dome as thestarting guard of the Aces andexited as champion.

It feels so great, Casiosaid.

Sobrang overwhelming kasiito ang first championship kosa PBA.

Casio, who also ranked thirdin the statistics and votes forthe Best Player of the Confer-ence crusade, mentioned thathe was at ease whenever play-ing for Alaska. Though ner-

vous, he believed that theycould conquer.

Kinabahan ako before nunglaro, admitted the former DL-SU Archer. Yung pagsara ngconference, its just one of thehardest games to play lalo na,championshipgame. Everything

is crucial.He [Casio]

personallythought thattheir best advan-tage was playingas a team since Alas-kas first game in theconference.

Alaska [players, manage-ment, coaches],

was just doing itright, said the510 Casio.The players ac-cepted andplayed their roles allthe way to the bench.

The months of exhaustingtraining and years of waiting

were worth it. And Casio guar-antees the people around himand himself that the story

wont end here. We need towin more games and... champi-

onships, declared Casio.Casio is savoring the mo-

ment of being a champion butthe Ace knows he has moredreams to fulfill and that

would be possible with thehelp of the team, family andfans.

My family will always be

my number one inspiration,said Casio. And of course, Iowe everything to the fans.Maraming salamat sa suportaniyong lahat.


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DOWNAND UPAFTER not-so impressiverecords in the amateurleague, Coach Trillo now

belongs to the elite listof PBA champions.

AUGUST DELA CRUZ

COACH TRILLO BARES ALASKAS RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Gatas Republic rulesBy Randolph B. LeongsonS

ITTING at a restaurant for a meeting just rightbefore the draft started, Alaska coach LuigiTrillo had the shock of his life.

Tim (Cone) told it rightthere that he was leaving (Alas-ka), and my jaw dropped (in

surprise).Distraught over the departureof Cone, architect of all previous13 Alaska championships high-lighted by a rare Grand Slam in1996, the 37-year-old Trillo knewthat he has to pick up himself inorder for him and the team tomove forward.

You dont want to see agood thing end like that. A part-nership was broken. It happens.

And you move forward afterthat.

After th e management gave

the reins to Joel Banal in thefirst two conferences of thepost-Tim Cone era, owner FredUytengsu decided to hand theteam to Trillo. To the critics,he isnt really one of the mostadmired bench tacticians inthe league, given the dismal 0-28 record he had in the Adam-son Falcons sideline that hashaunted him throughout hiscoaching career.

But rather than feel down,the father of four used that asa motivation to keep on im-proving on the profession hechose.

People who know basket-ball probably realize what afabulous job we have done in

Adamson. I took it at 23 (yearsold). We were already ineighth place and we went upthe ladder. They didnt see thatI was a 23-year-old going upagainst 40 to 50-year-olds,he said.

I knew much less atthat time, but I knew wewere on the right track. Iwas happy to plant th e

seeds for the next guywho came in. The foun-dation was there and itis just the motivation notto give up. You dontwant t o give up on any-thing.

And h e didnt give upon his dreams, too. The

Behavioral Science Man-agement graduate bouncedaround leagues, taken as as-

sistant coach in the PBL undercoach Tonichi Yturri, then latera head coaching spot for theCebuana Lhuillier franchise.

All in all, Trillo h ad 14 yearsof experience watching fromthe sidelines under his belt.

But his biggest break cameon that day Uytengsu gave himthe keys to the Alaska Aces.

When I came into Alaska, youknow youre the butt of jokes,and you have to understand thatin this profession, theres alwaysgonna be that. You can win one,two, or three, but the criticism

will always be the same.Struggling in his first con-

ference by finishing with a 2-7card, Uytengsu never gave upon the young Trillo, inking himon a two-year contract as ahead coach at the end of the

season-ending Governors Cup.We struggled a bit, but Ineeded to put the foundation.I wasnt going away with that,

we were running the triangle.Im a defensive minded coach.I saw we were getting better atthat and we wanted to imple-ment that, he said. I wantedthem to feel that they sawtheir head coach working thehardest, getting them preparedevery practice.

If youre not going to be

successful, all the more youllhear things, Trillo added. Ob-

viously, people had the chanceto raise their eyebrows becausethis is the PBA. Theyll alwayslook at you and dwell on the0-28. They didnt see we gotbetter every year.

But a shaky start proved tobe the catalyst for their immi-nent success. These guys arespecial because of their under-

standing of how we built theteams foundation. I think,

weve got guys wh o blendedwell with each other and gavebalance all over the lineup, as

well as the good support staffwho complimented me.

Banking from a semifinalfinish in the Philippine Cup,the Aces steamrolled in theeliminations of the Commis-sioners Cup, cruised past

Air21 Ex press in the quarterfi-

nals, and fended off their for-mer coach Tim Cone and theSan Mig Coffee Mixers in fourgames of the semis. Then, theycompleted their ascension backto the top of the mountain asthey swept the Barangay Gine-bra San Miguel in threeblowout games, culminating ina 104-80 conquest at theSmart Araneta Coliseum givingAlaska its 14th title in theleague.

It was fabulous, Trillo ex-

claimed. The road it took toget here and the span of timemakes it so much sweeter. Youlook at coach Tim and he tookthree years to get his firstchampionship, and we did it inthree conferences. All of thiscoming together has made itreally a truly amazing experi-ence for us.

What made it more specialis the coming retirement of his

father, Alaskas team managerfor 24 years, Sir Joaqui Trillo,at the end of the season. Imglad that I gave him a champi-onship before he left. Peoplesay lots of things about father-son relationship that its veryhard to work and grow and besuccessful, and somehow, wedid.

Through all of this, Luigistill highlights the core valuesof the Alaska organization,

and that is putting premiumon their families.It was a great experience for

us that when we won, most ofthem brought their kids down.

You rarely see that. Its always theteam. But this time, all of those

who had kids brought their kidsin the picture, he said. Your bestmoments are with your family,

you enjoy as a family, and it real-ly brings that closeness together.Thats what Fred is. He is family-oriented and I think the values

that he has brought and he haslearned he really passed it onto us. And Im proud of that.

If you told me that we wouldbe like this, how sweet it is tohave that record and prove thosedoubters wrong, to learn and togrow. It is nice that we built afoundation and we got to themountain on top on such a shortperiod of time. We expect to bethere at the top now.

MAY-JUNE 2013

WINNERCOACH Trillo.

RICHARD REYES

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Libre PBA Hard Court Action 27 May 2013