Alvin still Hotdogs' top dog

A team that has an Alvin Patrimonio in any Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino tournament is bound to do good.

For after all, it was Alvin who gave Chot Reyes and Eric Altamirano their first brushes with glory in the not so recent past.

But Patrimonio has done his share: he's won four Most Valuable Player trophies in a career spanning 12 years; a number of championships for the Tender Juicy Hotdogs; and arguably commanding the second-biggest individual following in the league next only to the legendary Robert Jaworski.

And we wouldn't be able to blame Alvin if he would want to take a breather once in a while.

With the All-Filipino opening the league's 26th season less than two weeks away, Purefoods is not labeled as a strong favorite probably for the first time in a long, long while. Could it be because of a slowed-down showing from Patrimonio all-season long last year, or is it because the Hotdogs don't have the materials to match up with the rest of the field anymore?

It could be a combination of both, but one could be sure that this would not be another season of rest for the boyish-looking Patrimonio.

Alvin wound up outside of the Top 10 in the statistical points race for the first time in his career last year, but if his showing in the season-ending Governor's Cup is any gauge, then Purefoods is primed to make waves once again.

For this, after all, continues to be Patrimonio's team and no one else's.

Reyes and Altamirano made waves in different seasons by winning titles in their maiden stints on the bench coaching Patrimonio, and now coach Derick Pumaren will try to win once again for himself and the Hotdogs, and Alvin will have a lot of say in whatever happens.

Alvin is not surrounded by the same people anymore. Jerry Codiñera, for one, is no longer a Hotdog and the experience that the former University of the East ace provided Alvin and the team during Purefoods' winningest years suffered a dent, so to speak.