MANILA – Defending champion San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas considers holding in Bacolod City some of its home matches in the upcoming 2018-2019 ASEAN Basketball League.
They want to bring the games closer to Western Visayan fans, said Alab Pilipinas team manager Charlie Dy.
Aside from Bacolod, Alab Pilipinas were also considering Santa Rosa in Laguna, Caloocan City in Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City.
The Jimmy Alapag-mentored team will parade 7-foot-3 center Peter John Ramos and Renaldo Balkman – both Puerto Ricans – as well as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings import Justin Brownlee.
Returning this season were Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Joshua Urbiztondo, Lorenzo Domingo, Chris Sumalinog, and Jhoy Rey Alabanza, while newcomers included Rashleigh Rivero, Caelan Tiongson, Ethan Alvano, and Brandon Rosser.
“I’m excited. They give us a lot of versatility. They’re bringing a lot of talent to our team. It’s just going to be a matter of molding the new guys to the core guys we have from last season,” Alapag said of the new recruits.
“They bring a different type of energy in practice. In terms of the basketball part, I think speed, athleticism – I think both of them allow us to play very similar to how we did last year,” he added.
Alab Pilipinas, which aims to become the first ABL team to repeat as champion, will open its campaign against the CLS Knights Indonesia on Dec. 9 at the Santa Rosa Multipurpose Complex in Laguna./PN
