Shell Velocity lacks the old zip

About this time last year, Shell Velocity and Perry Ronquillo were making heads turn in the Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Cup.

It was the continuation of a surprising run that dated back to the 1998 Governors Cup when Ronquillo won his first title and made his Zoom Masters the overachieving team of the year.

Ronquillo whipped this team into championship form in less than a year's time at the helm, but the team was wrecked, in a way, because it had to keep itself within the league's salary cap. Shell, in the process, did away with two key players in the off-season - Victor Pablo and Noy Castillo.

Ronquillo pushed several buttons just to make ends meet, so to speak, and make the Zoom Masters come out there as the team that they were last season.

So far, in this year's Alaxan-AFC, it seems that the team has a major problem. A problem in the shape of a 6-foot-4 forward whom he can't find anywhere on his bench.