Slashers also boast of tough 2nd unit

The Negros Slashers have come within sniffing an MBA championship twice, and they’ve had enough. In 1998, they lost the inaugural finals series to the Pampanga Dragons. Last year, they fell two games short of beating the San Juan Knights for their first title.

The motto for the Southern Conference champs seems to be "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." They have awesome talent, more so now that 1998 MVP John Ferriols has realized his dream of being on the national team. He and Ruben dela Rosa have now tasted a SEABA championship, and the boost in their confidence is palpable. The 6-4 Ferriols is only one of three MBA players to average double figures in points and rebounds, and has lost some of the bulk he needed when he started last season at center.

Negros has shored up its lean guard rotation by adding De La Salle point guard Dino Aldeguer to play behind Maui Huelar and Dennis Madrid. Since teams will be playing more frequently, Huelar will need more bench time to rest his aching knees, more so since the Slashers host Visayas rival Cebu on opening day.

The Slashers have arguably the best second unit in the league, with multi-talented 6-3 forwards Cid White, Reynel Hugnatan, and Leo Bat-og capable of holding their own against anyone. Coach Robert Sison has often attributed critical wins to his bench players.

To replace Romy dela Rosa, the team from the City of Smiles picked up Davao Eagle Jomar Tierra, who had one of the highest three-point shooting percentages in the south. Former Pasig-Rizal forward Patrick Benedicto has fully recovered from his ACL injury, and will finally be playing in his hometown.

Negros has the most devastating opening run in the MBA. For many teams visiting St. La Salle in Bacolod, the main challenge is to keep the Slashers from running and pumping up the crowd in the first period. Once the Slashers are on a roll, they are very hard to stop. However, this season, with the merging and strengthening of other teams, Negros has not benefited from any movement. The union with Iloilo’s MegaVoltz did not push through, and the transfer of Vince Hizon has been hanging.

Instead, they’ve been shopping for a big man. Ferriols and Hugnatan have been performing spot duty in the slot, but that was their downfall against San Juan. And with Cebu and Batangas bulking up, Negros needs some major beef in the middle.

Before Dorian Peña moved to San Miguel Beer in the PBA, his rights were held by the Laguna Lakers, giving them three Fil-Ams, with one to spare. Negros wanted 6-8 Jeff Flowers. But when Peña moving out, the deal couldn’t be done. The Slashers also tried Eric Menk.

"I listened to what they had to say," Menk reveals. "But, bottom line is that they have to talk to my (Tanduay) team owner, Bong Tan, who has my rights."

But make no mistake, this doughnut team has gone so far without a legitimate center, and they’ve gotten an extra year of experience playing together. That could make all the difference in the world.