by Neil Bravo
This is what you call powerhouse.
A frontline of three 6-7s and one 6-5 and an overall average ceiling of 6-3, two of the once feared gunners in the PBA, and a pair of explosive point guards.
Add up the years of experience too and you have a team every coach is salivating.
Royal Mandaya Hotel-VMO will be parading a team built for a championship in the coming Araw ng Dabaw basketball tournament on March 12-15 at the Davao City Recreation Center.
Team spokesperson Jek Melendres bared the line-up of the team which lost the championship last year despite a strong line-up. TRMH-VMO, however, is coming off their title run in the last Kadayawan cagefest.
Things will be vastly different this time though.
For one, their main cog 6-8 Devon Sullivan is no longer in the line-up and instead will be playing for rival Montana Pawnshop, the defending champion.
Melendres, however, said the team will hardly miss Sullivan. In his place are three giants at the frontline led by PBA veterans Ervin Sotto, Mark Andaya and Cedric Happi—all 6-7. Happi, a former Emilio Aguinaldo College General, is an exciting player who could be light up the floor anytime.
Another player to watch is 6-5 Mark Jeffries, a veteran of the Asean Basketball League. He will be playing as a local this time after Melendres confirmed he has secured a Philippine passport. Jeffries is a half-Filipino wingman who played for Westport Dragons of Malaysia.
Calling the plays for the Hoteliers are three players with PBA experience in former Alaska Ace and Jeremy Lin look-alike Julius Pasculado, Lou Gantumbato and Fil-Am Ramsey Williams, who played for Air21 Express in the PBA and for the Brunei Barracudas in the ABL.
The points will come from two of the most prolific scorers in the PBA—Jojo Tangkay, Francis Adriano and Cris Calaguio.
Forwards 6-3 Hafer Mondragon and 6-5 JR Gerilla complete the squad to be coached by a battery of local mentors led by head coaches Migs Solitaria and Rey Josol with assistants Bambi Santander, Dindo Pastor, Cadel Mosqueda and Mark Bonifacio.
If that is already intimidating, think again. Melendres is keeping one more card close to their chest.
“There’s one more player, our import, and we cannot announce it as of today yet,” he told the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) yesterday.
That player could be Justin Williams, the current shot-blocking import of Global Port in the PBA.
The problem is, Williams might be staying on as import in the PBA afterall.
“If he is cut, we will be signing him up for the tournament as our import,” Melendres said.
GlobalPort team manager BJ Manalo on Wednesday confirmed Williams could be hanging on to his spot in the team. “Yung reports na si Justin Williams papalitan, walang katotohanan yan. Of course, he was hurt when reports came out that he will be replaced, but I told him not to believe them until I talk to him straight up,” said Manalo in a recent report.
GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi made his disappointment with Williams’ performance clear after the import scored just five points in GlobalPort’s loss to Meralco last February 24. Baculi said Williams was under evaluation.
Williams tallied just 10 points in GlobalPort’s out-of-town game loss to San Mig Coffee last Saturday in Naga City.
“We know what he is capable of and we are hoping that if he leaves the PBA, he will get the next flight to Davao,” Melendres said.
