The Pirates surprised a lot of teams early in the first round last year before fizzling out. They sorely missed the services of big man Allan Santos, who was a double-double waiting to happen, midway through the season. He manned the paint and gave the Pirates the important intangibles: toughness in the paint and rebounding. Shane Ko and Chris Cayabyab, the two vital cogs of the Pirates, are back to smack people around. The team will pretty much be centered on them as they are the only ones who can consistently put the basketball through the net. This will be a rough sophomore jig for the Pirates but expect them to take away a few heads along the way.