Mixing beer and milk

Much has been said about the joint legacy of teams in the PBA. Ironically, the teams with most imcompatible products seem to have been traveling the same road. Time was when San Miguel Beer won a string of championships, and a rebuilding Alaska team was following close by, until the then-Milkmen made a run of titles of their own. Now, with a former Alaska assistant in Chot Reyes steering the Beermen, both teams seem to be in similar situations, trying to get bigger and stronger and quicker, surrounded by teams that have gotten the lion’s share of the last few championships.

"I think it’s the dream of every coach in the country to handle or work a team like San Miguel, it’s so rich in tradition. You can’t help but feel excited about it," said Reyes, who is handling the Beermen for the first time, after vacating Coca-Cola to coach the national team.

Last year the Beermen were last in rebounds and fastbreaks, two crucial stats that undermined their competitiveness. Those, and a stat that has continually been climbing — their overall age. Hopefully, the addition of point guard LA Tenorio from Ateneo and center/forward Gabby Espinas of Philippine Christian University will help remedy that.

"We’re consciously trying to get younger, that’s why LA and Gabby’s contributions to the team will be important in that respect," Reyes adds. "We also have two first-round picks next year. It’s a long process, so we’re going to be patient about it, we’re not going to be able to remedy that overnight."

Reyes cites Talk ’N Text, Barangay Ginebra, Purefoods Chunkee and Red Bull as the teams standing in their way of making it to the finals. Unusually San Miguel Beer is not mentioned in the same breath.

I think if you take a look at the teams, San Miguel’s got to be in the bottom half, because we don’t have the size of the other teams, because we don’t have the speed or the quickness of the other teams. We’ve got a very difficult tournament ahead of us," Reyes admits. "We just need to be the most hard-working, best-conditioned team in the PBA. If we can achieve those two things, then maybe we can make a run at the championships."

Meanwhile, when he started out with Alaska, Tim Cone was the youngest coach in the PBA. A decade and half later, he is the oldest, and the coach with the longest tenure with the same franchise. But he has never been in a situation wherein virtually every team he will face has become a juggernaut.

"I can’t think back on my last 16, 17 years and think of a conference and look ahead and see the teams and say, wow, this is really gonna be tough this year. And that just makes us more motivated, and know that we have to be more on our toes. As hard as it’s going to be it’s also very exciting," Cone says. "We’re about sixty, seventy percent, and we have a couple of weeks before we have to be at our tip-top shape. But I think we’re progressing very well. The guys are responding well."

Since as far back as Cone has been with Alaska, his teams have always had one hallmark. Defense never takes a day off.

"We’re a defense-oriented team, but we’re going to try to take advantage of our players’ offensive skills. We’re going to run the triangle, but we’re gonna add some stuff, as well, try to be a little more versatile as a team, and not be as predictable," Cone explains. "When you’re with Alaska, you start every conference trying to be the number one team on the defensive side, and defensive field goal percentage. Obviously, we want to finish in the top two in the eliminations, because it’s a big advantage to be there."

Cone says the Aces are going to run more and push up the ball more, especially considering he has two new thoroughbreds in guards Aaron Aban from Letran and Christian Luanzon from University of Santo Tomas.

"Aaron is a very athletic player, and a very willing defender. He’s kind of a guard version of Rey Hugnatan, so we’re really looking forward to him being on our team. And Chris Luanzon is performing very well in our practices."

Historically, San Miguel Beer and Alaska Milk have always been chasing each other. This time around, they find themselves with more and bigger targets.