Wednesday, October 03, 2007 Big man, shooter needed to boost Duterte Agilas
IT ONLY took one game--or make that one crushing defeat--for Davao City basketball officials to point out the defect in the Duterte Agilas line-up in the Mindanao-Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA).
The absence of a legitimate center and a natural shooter did the Agilas in when they absorbed a shocking 73-90 loss at the hands of the visiting and defending champion M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala of Cebu three nights ago at the Davao City Recreation Center.
"We really need a big man and a shooter. We admit we couldn't beat Lhuillier with that kind of players," said Duterte Agilas team manager Christopher "Bong" Go, referring to the Jewelers' big line-up.
Regino "Boy" Cua, BAP-SBP Region 11 director and team consultant of the Duterte Agilas, said they would have to find a big man and a shooter to bolster the team.
The Agilas have three more slots to fill to complete the allowed 15-man roster per team in the MVBA.
Aside from having a good number of six-foot and above players in its roster, M. Lhuillier also boasts of good outside gunners such as Stephen Padilla, Woodrow Enriquez, and Bruce Dacia.
In fact, it was the fantastic outside shooting of the Cebuano dribblers that killed the Agilas in that Sunday massacre.
The Agilas fell by as many as 21 points early in the third quarter, 37-58, but mounted a spirited comeback behind a solid defense to claw their way back into the game as they trailed by only 10 points entering the final canto.
But, just as the Agilas were all set to get back into the game, the Jewelers went on a torrid shooting spree to pull away again and for good.
The Agilas simply found no answer to the Jewelers' outside sniping while having a nightmare themselves from the perimeter.
Eder Zaldua, a good shooter, had a bad shooting night and ended up with only 10 points for the Agilas.
Though the defeat was a rude welcome for the Agilas in the MVBA, it was just their very first game in the community-based league and officials are hopeful the Davao team will rebound from the loss. (CRAM)
