SMART CLARK GIGA CITY – Although no longer with the team, Sonny Thoss is still proving to be a valuable asset for Alaska.
According to Alaska coach Jeff Cariaso, the veteran big man would from time to time give his inputs to the coaching staff, especially on the performance of the Aces' bigs in the PBA Philippine Cup bubble.
Cariaso said he appreciates the effort being extended by his former player and teammate even if he's no longer officially part of the team.
“He’s not here physically but Sonny is still in touch with us. So what’s nice is he’ll always give feedback to me, he’ll give feedback to coach Danny [Ildefonso], and he still talks to a lot of the guys,” said Cariaso on Friday after the Aces formally booked a quarterfinal berth with their 102-94 win over NorthPort.
“And that always helped.”
Against the Batang Pier, the Aces’ Abu Tratter and Rodney Brondial imposed their might in the middle to help thwart the career-high 39 points of Gilas Pilipinas stalwart Christian Standhardinger.
Tratter finished with 16 points while Brondial also had the same scoring output and grabbed 10 rebounds.
And for sure, the 38-year-old Thoss monitored the huge plays done by both Tratter and Brondial.
“All the time, he never misses a game,” said Cariaso. “We appreciate the support.”
“He’ll talk to me, he’ll talk to coach Danny, and he’ll talk to the other guys he’s in contact with,” added Cariaso about the inputs Thoss would usually give to the team especially the Aces’ big men.
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