Alaska vows to uphold winning tradition in PBA

No Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) franchise has overachieved as much in the last 20 years as Alaska and its championship tradition is the legacy the Aces are determined to uphold in the new season.

Alaska team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu said yesterday the team’s 20th anniversary in the PBA is a milestone that stands proudly in the company’s history.

"Winning 11 championships is quite a feat for an organization that is only 20 years old," said Uytengsu. "But more than the title, what we’re particularly proud of is the way we play the game. Our team has strived to be a symbol of sportsmanship from its inception. It is a symbol that characterizes Alaska’s team spirit."

Alaska coach Tim Cone returns on the Aces bench with a cast that is retooled to seriously challenge for the Fiesta Conference crown. The holdovers include Jeffrey Cariaso and Bong Hawkins, remnants of the Alaska squad that bagged the Grand Slam in 1996.

Others are 1999 No. 1 overall draft pick Don Allado, 2003 No.1 overall draft pick Mike Cortez, Brandon Cablay, Reynel Hugnatan, Sonny Thoss, Willy Wilson and Stephhen Padilla. Bolstering the lineup are off season recruits Tony dela Cruz, Rich Alvarez, Banjo Calpito and rookie Mark Kong.

Cone, 47, is the longest-tenured PBA coach. He took over from Bogs Adornado in 1989 and has piloted Alaska to 11 titles, starting in 1991. The Aces’ last championship came in 2003.

Easily the highlight of Alaska’s PBA history is its Grand Slam finish in 1996 when the team swept the All-Filipino Cup, the Commissioner’s Cup and the Governors Cup in style. Only two other franchises are in the record books for capturing a Grand Slam —Crispa in 1976 and 1983 and San Miguel in 1989.

No team has managed to score a Grand Slam since Alaska. In 1998, Alaska came close to snaring a second Grand Slam after capturing the All-Filipino Cup and Commissioner’s Cup. But in an act of supreme sacrifice, Alaska lent four mainstays — Johnny Abarrientos, Jojo Lastimosa, Kenneth Duremdes and Jeffrey Cariaso — to the national team, crippling in the process its chances to pocket the final jewel in completing the hattrick.

As a consolation, it was Cone who coached the national squad at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and brought back a bronze medal. Cone is the only coach to pilot the Philippines to an Asiad medal in basketball since Robert Jaworski in 1990. He is also the second winningest coach in PBA history behind the legendary Baby Dalupan.