MILAN – The coming 2020 PBA Philippine Cup will serve as the swan song of veteran big man Sonny Thoss for Alaska.
The Fil-German big man, 38, is set to hang up his jersey at the end of the all-Flipino Cup and is poised to become one of the rare players to retire with the very same franchise which picked him in the rookie draft.
Thoss has been signed by the Aces just for the season-opening conference, confirmed board of governor and team manager Richard Bachmann.
“Sonny will be retiring at the end of the Philippine Cup,” disclosed the Alaska executive late Tuesday night upon arriving in this Northern Italian city, home to top-flight football team AC Milan, for the annual PBA Board planning session.
Picked in the first round of the 2004 draft, Thoss was supposed to retire at the end of the league’s 44th season but was prevailed upon by Bachmann to suit up for one more conference.
“I talked to him if he can play one more conference. We really lacked a big man especially in the Philippine Cup. It’s okay in the Commissioner’s Cup and Governors Cup because the imports can compensate for it,” Bachmann said.
As had been the practice of the Alaska organization, Thoss’ No. 7 jersey will be retired during the all-Filipino conference in a simple ceremony.
He will join legends Jojo Lastimosa, Johnny Abarrientos, Bong Hawkins, Bogs Adornado, Sean Chambers, and current coach Jeff Cariaso among the players whose playing jersey was retired by the organization.
Thoss still managed to give a good account of himself during the last Governors Cup where the Aces made it to the playoffs in Cariaso’s first conference in charge.
He was really bent on retiring at the start of the season until Bachmann asked him to stay for another conference.
With the Aces, Thoss won a total of three career championships and was named PBA Press Corps Finals MVP in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup.
A 12-time All-Star and a two-time Mythical first team, Thoss played for the Gilas Pilipinas team that won the silver medal in the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China in 2015.
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