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Thursday, December 23, 2004
Tribu to seek title No.2 in NBC
TRIBU Sugbu is out to claim another title as the National Basketball Conference holds a first pre-season tournament on Jan.19-22 in Cebu.
The NBC’s pre-season series, supported by Panasonic and Sulpicio Lines, ushers in the 2005 regular season, which is set to open on March 25.
Four teams led by inaugural champion Tribu Sugbu of businessmen Lito Gilliamac Jr, Kelly Viado and Albert Tan, will compete in the short series.
Another team from the south will join the Tribes, while the top two teams from the north last season are ready to measure up to their southern counterparts.
The Forward Taguig of Mayor Freddie Tinga is again expected to be Tribu’s toughest match. The Skygo Motorcycles-backed Tribes snatched the inaugural title after a 0-1 deficit in the best-of-three national finals last October against Taguig.
Mentored by NBC’s first Coach of the Year awardee, Danny Gavieres, returns with almost an intact line-up save for backcourt general Ogie Gumatay, who is already playing with Sta. Lucia Realty in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Taguig resumed practice three weeks after losing to the Tribes in the national finals.
Laguna Spring, on the other hand, will have new coach Vic “Rambo” Sanchez, who replaced Mike Buendia, who accepted a head coaching job in a commercial league in Bahrain.
Sanchez, a former Shell and Tanduay player in the PBA played alongside Ramon “El Presidente” Fernandez and former senator Freddie Webb, will likely transform the franchise of Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla and Laguna Gov. Teresita “Ningning” Lazaro into an athletic, defensive squad just like what he was known for in the pros.
Sanchez was also in the coaching staff of the Laguna Lakers in the defunct MBA. (RCM)
(December 23, 2004 issue)
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