PRESS RELEASE OF ALASKA ACES:
Alaska Trades Tenorio for CasioHontiveros to Aces for Gonzalez and Thiele
The Alaska Aces surprised many by trading point guard LA Tenorio for JV Casio and a second round pick in 2013. Tenorio fresh from his heroics at the Jones Cup will be replaced by All Star vote leader JV Casio who will have some big shoes to fill. Contrary to earlier reports, the trade was not sparked by Tenorio's participation in the Jones Cup. Tenorio together with Thoss and Baracael were given the green light to participate and support the National team. "We have been approached by many teams for LA and they have all been denied because we felt LA was an integral part of our team." Aces GM Joaqui Trillo stated. "However, looking forward, we also see the promise of JV and feel he can bring a lot to Alaska. So we are taking a leap of faith but a calculated one." Trillo added.
Tenorio was the MVP at the recently concluded Jones Cup in Taiwan where the Philippine Team won the gold medal. Earlier it had been reported that Alaska management was not keen to lend its players to the national pool considering the sacrifices it has made supporting past national teams and given the Aces poor showing last season. Alaska was the only team to contribute three players to the Nationals which included Sonny Thoss and Mac Baracael in addition to Tenorio. "We lent three of our key players to the Jones Cup tournament because we knew it was a big tournament and we are proud of the entire team's accomplishment. But it’s also time that other companies step up their support of the national team as we have been doing so since the mid-90s." team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu mentioned. "We believe the FIBA Asia Cup, (formerly known as the Stankovic Cup) in Japan later this month to be of less significance and do not see the need to contribute players. Nevertheless, we are making Sonny available for the FIBA Asia Cup on a limited basis. We need to focus on our campaign for the upcoming season given our sub-par performance last season and we need our players to be focused and healthy. I talked to the team about this right after our last game in June and the players committed to making the sacrifices necessary to regain competitiveness. We want a team of players who will live by this commitment. We wish LA well and thank him for his leadership while he was wearing an Aces jersey. He will be successful wherever he goes. At the same time, we believe JV can bring a lot of dynamism to our team and has the youth to have a long career with Alaska." Uytengsu added.
Also traded were Wesley Gonzalez and Hans Thiele for veteran Dondon Hontiveros. Trillo mentioned, "Although approaching the twilight of his career, we believe Dondon still has a great game and will open things up for us with his great shooting and occasional penetration. Plus he is a good defender and has strong leadership skills."
The Aces have opted to reinforce their 2012-2013 season line up by adding a couple of veteran Alaska balik-players in Nic Belasco and Eddie Laure who are already familiar with Alaska's philosophy and system. Together with the rest of the core team that includes Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio, Tony de la Cruz, Brandon Cablay, Mac Baracael, Paolo Bugia, Nino Gelig, Bonbon Custodio, Gabby Espinas, Sam Eman, RJ Jazul and rookies Calvin Abueva and Raffy Reyes, Alaska expects to regain its winning form this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment