THE defending champions San Miguel Alab Pilipinas will treat Cebuanos with a home game against the Wolf Warriors of China in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City on Jan. 6 next year.
This will be the first time for the Alab Pilipinas to play in the Queen City of the South and they are nothing but excited.
Former national team skipper-turned-Alab Pilipinas coach Jimmy “The Mighty Mouse” Alapag is excited to rally his squad in front of the passionate Cebuano fans.
“There’s something different when you play here in Cebu. I’ve been playing here many times before and I’m so excited for my coaching debut here in Cebu,” said Alapag in a press conference at Siknoy Pochero and Grill in Lahug, Cebu City.
Alapag, the 10th overall picked by Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals in 2003, played numerous times in Cebu during his illustrious Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) career.
Alab Pilipinas, which is coming off a dominating 94-67 win over the CLS Knights of Indonesia, will boost its presence inside the paint with imports and former NBA players Renaldo Miguel Balkman and 7-foot-3 PJ Ramos.
PBA-bound Bobby Ray Parks Jr., tipped to be among the frontrunners in the coming PBA Rookie Draft, will add firepower from the back court.
The Wolf Warriors will be relying on former NBA journeyman Eddy Curry, who played for theNew York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.
Alab Pilipinas has no room to be complacent against the winless Wolf Warriors after the latter tapped three new imports.
The league rules allow every team to get a maximum of three imports this season.
“We need to focus on our game, especially since the Wolf Warriors have changed all three of their imports,” said Alapag.
Team owner Charlie Dy is excited to bring his wards to Cebu, especially because they had a high viewer rating here in Alab Pilipinas’ games last season.
“We are very much excited about our upcoming game here in Cebu. This is the first time we will play in Cebu and I’m sure this will not be the last,” said Dy.
Entry fee is at P300 for Upper Box and P500 for the Lower Box. The general admission is for free but it will be distributed by the Lapu-Lapu City government.
Alab Pilipinas is 1-0 behind 6-0 Formosa Dreamers, while Wolf Warriors is still in search of its first win with 0-7. (RSC)