Give And Go
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
When the season-ending Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup unfurls later this week, a new-look Alaska Aces will be competing after they made changes during the in-between conference break.
Alaska has a new coach manning the sidelines in erstwhile deputy Jeff Cariaso, who replaced Alex Compton, the man who handled the team for five years.
The team also has new players in Maverick Ahanmisi and Abu Tratter whom it acquired in different trades with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Blackwater Elite, respectively.
In exchange the Aces lost stalwarts Ping Exciminiano and a draft pick in the next rookie draft to ROS and Carl Bryan Cruz to Blackwater.
Considering how things were going for the Aces of late, a shake-up at this point might not be a bad track to take.
To be fair, they have been competing but simply just could not get the needed push to go deeper in tournaments.
It remains to be seen whether Cariaso will do a better job than Compton, who took the Aces to a number of trips to the finals during his term as coach, the last one in the Governors’ Cup last season, but just could not hand that elusive 15th league title to the team.
But having had a chance to talk to him in the past, Cariaso is very driven to succeed in coaching much like how he approached the game during a highly successful PBA career.
Cariaso respects the game and wants to win, something the Aces could take positive cue from for the now and future.
He has been with Alaska for majority of his PBA life both as a player and part of its coaching staff, has seen its highs and lows, and is fully aware of what the team wants to accomplish which should guide him now as the main man on the bench of the Aces.
Ahanmisi and Tratter should also be a boon to the Alaska roster with the skills sets they bring.
Exciminiano is a solid player on both ends on the court and was a valuable part of the guard rotation of the Aces but Ahanmisi would be an upgrade.
Ahanmisi is bigger in built and taller and has more range offensively which would go a long way for the Aces as they make their push.
He is also a PBA champion and has played in big games and delivered.
Ahanmisi is coming off an injury but when he gets his groove back and familiarize with the Alaska system it is going to be a partnership that would highly likely to bear much fruit.
Tratter, meanwhile, may not have the offensive range of Cruz but he is going to be a presence for the Aces’ frontline.
He is a wide body who can complement fellow big men Noy Baclao, Vic Manuel and Sonny Thoss as well as Governors’ Cup reinforcement Justin Watts both offensively and defensively.
While with Blackwater, rookie Tratter has shown the ability to make things happen without necessarily creating a play for himself, adding further dimension to the Aces’ thrust.
Needing to shake things up and fortify its makeup, the Aces went for it and actually did a good job. It is still going to be tough battle for the team in the PBA but with the moves they had made they put themselves with better leverage to compete.
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
