Mystery surrounds the formation of the lineup of Strong Group Athletics for the Dubai International Basketball Championship after it was revealed that a certain "Mikey" will be joining the team.
Andray Blatche, the former Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player, said the team is waiting for the arrival of Mikey whose surname he did not disclose.
“We’re not complete yet. We’re waiting on DeMarcus Cousins and Mikey to get here. Once they get here, we can get a better rhythm of the team and prepare for Dubai,” said Blatche in an interview when he went to watch a PBA game last Saturday.
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SGA has already announced that DeMarcus Cousins, who had a 12-year NBA career, will be part of the team which finished runner-up in last year’s tournament.
But it is this person named MIkey that had people wondering. Is it Mikey Williams, TNT’s former player whose career in the PBA was cut short due to a dispute with the team?
SGA has yet to respond to queries on who this Mikey is or whether it is Mikey Williams, so it looks like we are going to wait and see who he is. The suspense is killing many.
Meanwhile, Blatche said his SGA teammate from last year, Dwight Howard, is officially out of the team. Howard, one of the best defensive players in NBA history, is now engaged.
“Dwight not playing. Dwight just got engaged, so congratulations to him. He’s out with his fiancee traveling,” said Blatche.
He said Howard is engaged to rapper Amy Luciani.
Ice-cold Beer(men)
IT was one circuitous trip that San Miguel Beer took in order to play reigning B.League champion Hiroshima Dragonflies in the EASL in Tokyo.
With their game scheduled at the height of the holiday season, booking a flight proved problematic and the large San Miguel contingent had to first fly to South Korea where they endured a six-hour layover before getting a flight to Japan.
"Nahirapan ng booking kasi nga holiday season," said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
What made matters worse was when they arrive in Tokyo the city was shivering, with temperature reaching below zero at nighttime.
"Sobrang lamig. Hindi na nga ako lumalabas ng kuwarto maliban sa practice and game," Austria told SPIN.ph.
That, however, was not considered a valid excuse for San Miguel's awful 94-63 loss to the home team, which officially eliminated the PBA squad in the race for a Final Four berth in Group A.
The Beermen are winless in four games and at the bottom of the standings.
The team again had to go through the same flight sequence returning home, which means another six-hour stay at Seoul airport.
San Miguel will have another game in the EASL on Wednesday against Hong Kong Eastern, but this time, it will have the luxury of playing at home.
Power struggle at FEU?
IS there a power struggle in Far Eastern University’s boys' basketball program?
Word from the grapevine said that there might be, which should be alarming considering that the UAAP boys’ basketball tournament will be starting this Sunday.
SPIN.ph sources bared that Denok Miranda, the school’s program director for basketball, is being eyed to take over as head coach of the Baby Tamaraws.
If this pushes through, current boys' head coach Allan Albano could be promoted to a full-time assistant coach to former PBA import Sean Chambers in the seniors team.
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It’s a surprising if not abrupt move, because FEU-Diliman is considered one of the powerhouse teams in the UAAP juniors division for some time now.
The school has Albano to thank for this. The man guided the team to two UAAP titles besides developing players who have moved on to shine in the seniors division. These include the likes of Veejay Pre, Janrey Pasaol, and Jedric Daa.
But there is more to the story than meets the eye.
Various sources shared that there are some alumni pushing for Miranda to take over the boys team, and the move is reportedly supported by former Tamaraws Arwind Santos and Mark Isip, both of whom are taking an active role in the school's basketball program.
The chatter gets louder because of the alleged involvement of other prominent parents whose children are being pushed to join the boys's team. These include Tash Maierhofer, son of Rico, and Liam Salangsang, son of Allan, Miranda’s son CP, Isip’s son Krystof, Marcio Lassiter’s son Montae, Marc Pingris’ son Mic, Kiko Adriano’s son Dos, and Dennis Daa’s son Jaidel.
Kirby Mongcopa, returning from a leg injury from a freak accident last season, and Gilas Youth player Cabs Cabonilas are expected to lead the charge for FEU-Diliman in this upcoming campaign.
The situation has put FEU athletic director Mark Molina in a quandary as he tries to make sure that no one's feelings is hurt and at the same time ensure that the boys' basketball program remains strong in the event of a coaching change.
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