TnT team to beat in incoming season

Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao shares the same consensus with the rest of his Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) counterparts: Talk ‘N Text is the team to beat in the coming Fiesta Conference.

An intact lineup that got even stronger with the off-season acquisitions of former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Willie Miller and big man Yancy de Ocampo is one major factor that makes the Pals the top team among the coaches’ list for the season, Guiao included.

"Malakas na nga sila, lalo pang lumakas," said Guiao in the weekly PSA Forum at the Manila Pavilion where he was joined by Red Bull team manager Tony Chua.

"Tapos meron pa silang team-building sa US," added the Red Bull coach referring to the Pals’ US trip, as bonus for winning last year’s All-Filipino Cup, which they also used to attend a clinic conducted by former University of Nevada Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkainian.

The Barakos themselves are fresh from two exhibition games, both of which they lost, against the Qatari national team, a trip which Chua said served as a good exposure for the squad.

"It gave us the time to really jell as a team. We’re basically intact naman. Si Willie (Miller) lang ang nawala," Chua added in the public sports program sponsored by Agfa Colors and Red Bull.

Miller was offered by Red Bull management around P12 million, including the maximum monthly salary of P350,000 for the next three years, when his contract with the Photokina franchise expired.

But the exciting, 6-foot guard out of Letran College opted to sign with the Pals for a little less than P11 million.

‘Si Willie ang unang hindi naging masaya sa team, hindi kami,’ Chua said with regrets. ‘So I guess the best thing to do was to let him go.’

Red Bull expects rookie pick Denver Lopez to make the most out of Miller’s absence.

"He’s not as talented as Willie, but he’s a solid player," said Guiao of the peppery point guard.