MANILA, Philippines - Matapos agawan ng korona ng Chang Thailand Slammers sa nakaraang 2011 AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), sasailalim naman sa ‘revamp’ ang buong Philippine Patriots.
Ito ang inihayag kahapon nina team owners Dr. Mikee Romero at Tonyboy Cojuangco kaugnay sa kagustuhan nilang muling magkampeon sa ABL sa third season nito sa susunod na taon.
“We have to evaluate the composition of the team,” wika ni Romero sa magiging hakbang nila ni Cojuangco sa Patriots, naghari sa inaugural staging ng ABL noong 2010. “At this point, Tonyboy and I evaluating the whole team as well as the coaching staff.”
Si Louie Alas, mentor ng Letran Knights sa National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ang gumabay sa Patriots sa nakaraang dalawang taon.
“The level of competition is very high, so we need to bring in the big guns already. We are planning to get some collegiate players to beef up the Patriots,” sabi ni Romero.
Winalis ng Slammers ang Patriots, 2-0, sa kanilang best-of-three championship series upang angkinin ang 2011 ABL season.
Samantala, inilunsad naman ng AirAsia ABL ang kanilang internship program para palaganapin at palakasin ang palakasan at edukasyon sa rehiyon.
“The arena of sports presents many career opportunities that have been overlooked or which have not been given due attention,” ani Romero. “With ABL, it is our intent to open these new career avenues that would also converge in the direction pointing to overall growth of sports in the region.” Ang unang nabigyan ng internship program ng ABL ay si Editha Botecario, isang third year Bachelor of Physical Wellness student sa University of Makati.
Nagsanay si Botecario sa ABL office sa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia kung saan siya tumulong sa planning at scheduling ng mga laro.