Pinoys find avenue in ABL

MANILA, Philippines - Now on its second season, the Asean Basketball League (ABL) continues to provide playing opportunities for Filipinos who are recruited to fill in three available spots for Asean imports in each of the six franchises.

The Westports Kuala Lumpur Dragons signed up Rudy Lingganay, former PBA cager Kevin White and Angelus (Bogart) Raymundo while the Brunei Barracudas picked up Ramsey Williams, Chester Tolomia and Bryan Faundo. Satria Muda BritAma of Indonesia’s Asean imports are PBA veterans Kiko Adriano, Don Camaso and Ron Capati. The Chang Thailand Slammers recruited Froilan Baguion and Eric Canlas. The Singapore Slingers’ recruits are Leo Avenido and Al Vergara.

The surprise of the 13 Filipino imports is Lingganay, a 5-9 guard who was snubbed in the PBA draft last August. The former University of the East hotshot, whose father Rudy Sr. is a retired soldier in Zamboanga City, averaged 23.5 points in his first two games with the Dragons.

White, who played 21 games for Ginebra last season, was in Brunei’s lineup at the start of the campaign then moved to Kuala Lumpur to replace La Salle’s James Mangahas. Williams, a PBA rookie with Air21 last season, hit 14 points for Brunei in a 72-67 loss to the Philippine Patriots last weekend. Like White and Williams, Faundo jumped to the ABL after a year in the PBA.

The Patriots are a mix of young and not-so-young locals as coach Louie Alas put a premium on balance. Egay Billiones, Alex Crisano, Junjun Cabatu, Chito Jaime, Warren Ybanez and Allan Salangsang are the veterans while rookie Pari Llagas joins Benedict Fernandez and Orlando Daroya among the relative newcomers.

Patriots team manager Erick Arejola said the ABL is a welcome development for Philippine basketball as it gives more locals the chance to make a living from the sport.

Each team submits a 16-man lineup at the start of the season with two imports who may be replaced up to a week before the semifinals. Among the 14 slots, three may be filled by Asean imports.

“The ABL is here to stay,” said Arejola. “The six teams that inaugurated the league last season are back. Thailand has new owners but the other team owners are the same. We are proud to be supported by some of the region’s biggest businessmen like Dr. Mikee Romero, Mr. Tony Boy Cojuangco, Mr. Erick Tohir and Mr. Tony Fernandes. At the moment, the thrust is to concentrate on Asean. But eventually, the scope may expand to beyond Asean.”

The Patriots took the ABL’s first championship and this year, Arejola said they’ll be severely challenged by Thailand and Indonesia. In the tournament format, each team plays 15 home-and-away games in the eliminations then the top four advance to the best-of-three semifinals with the survivors disputing the crown in another best-of-three series.

“The quality of imports is high, making the league quite competitive with a level playing field,” said Arejola. Leading the imports cast is PBA veteran Jason Dixon who powered the Philippines to the ABL title with Gabe Freeman last year and now plays for Thailand.

Other imports include Brunei’s 6-11 Chris Garnett of Indiana Southeast and 6-9 Chris Commons of South Carolina at Aiken, the Dragons’ 6-7 Alex Hartman of Concordia College and 6-11 Conor Grace of Davidson, the Slingers’ 6-7 Marcus Skinner of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and 6-9 Kyle Jeffries of Oregon State, Indonesia’s 6-6 Marcus Morrison of Middle Tennessee State and 6-9 Jamal Holden of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Thailand’s Dixon and 6-5 Chris Kuete of Cameroon and the Patriots’ 6-6 Anthony Johnson of Louisiana at Lafayette and 6-11 Donald Little of Cincinnati.

Arejola said Jerwin Gaco would’ve played for the Philippines in the ABL this year but B-Meg submitted an offer for one year compared to six months with the Patriots.

“Dr. Romero won’t hold back any player from taking a better opportunity,” said Arejola. “Aside from Jerwin, we also lost Val Acuna to B-Meg where he is now a practice player. We picked up Pari Llagas who was a free agent. One of our former players Christian Coronel is now an assistant coach with us.”

Arejola said former PBA players want to use the ABL as a springboard back to the pros. A prime example is Cabatu who has played for Welcoat, Alaska and Ginebra in a three-year PBA career. He has emerged to be the Patriots top local scorer.

“Junjun wants to prove he belongs in the PBA,” said Arejola. “He’s eager to show what he can do and we’re happy for him because of the way he’s been playing. He’s signed to a six-month contract and when it expires, he’s free to negotiate with a PBA team. A veteran like Egay isn’t really planning on going back to the PBA. He’s content playing basketball. He and Allan Salangsang are our leaders.”

Johnson has sat out the Patriots’ last two games with a hamstring injury but will be back in harness when the Philippines takes on Thailand in a battle of unbeaten teams at the Nimibutr National Stadium in Bangkok this Saturday.

Arejola said in case the PBL is reformed, he’s not sure if Harbour Centre will jump back in.

“At the moment, Dr. Romero’s priority is the ABL and he’s attending to so many important businesses, leaving little time for another basketball team,” said Arejola. “The commitment is to the ABL and we’re excited about its future.”

Joaquin Henson, Philippine Star