ALASKA coach Jeff Cariaso bared Ben Adamos and Taylor Browne were the two players the organization targeted in the last PBA Rookie Draft, adding late picks Alec Stockton and RK Ilagan were welcome bonuses that add depth to the team.
Cariaso said the Aces were really eyeing on Adamos who they consider as one of the top bigs in the draft pool, picking him up at No. 6 overall before going for 'draft mystery man' Browne in the second round.
The Aces also picked up Stockton in the second round and were pleasantly surprised to see Ilagan still available in the third round last Sunday.
“I think we have a competitive team with regards to both sides,” Cariaso said. “Mas na-balance [ang lineup namin] in regards to being able to defend the way we want and then I think we were able to add some more weapons offensively.”
Cariaso said the Aces had long set their sights on the 6-foot-7 Adamos, who played college ball with San Beda and Perpetual Help in the NCAA, because of his ability to score as well as defend.
“He is one guy at his size that plays both ends. Obviously, he has a good shooting touch at may poste siya, malakas sa loob. Defensively, he is a good weak side defender so he is known as a shotblocker. We like that he has both skills.”
Browne, meanwhile, was tagged as one of the surprise picks in the draft, but Cariaso knows exactly what he can bring to the Aces on offense and defense.
“He is about 6-2, 6-2 1/2. May length ‘yung bata. The skills that we like is being able to shoot from the three and defending,” Cariaso said.
Cariaso sees Stockton as another defender that the Aces can rely on with Kevin Racal still injured, while Ilagan can bring that spark on offense for the team.
“Stockton was surprisingly available at No. 21. We felt like he is going to be gone earlier lalo na with Blackwater [picking] at 13 and 14. I felt that the strength of Alec is to defend and coming into this conference lalo na wala si Kevin Racal, wala tayong player katulad ni Alec.
"When he became available, we jumped at the opportunity kasi nga he was also on that short list of 16 [for us]. We ranked him according to what we need and we felt like he will help the team. Alec brings toughness, he is very athletic, and good all-around player. Happy kami doon.
“With RK, we thought he will be gone. We didn’t expect him to be available. RK worked out with us one time and he showed us what he showed the whole country during his college days. He can shoot from anywhere. Grabe ‘yung range ng bata even with his size. Siya ‘yung pure point guard na we are looking at in case they are available in the third round,” said Cariaso.
With a well-rounded lineup, Cariaso said it's now a matter of putting it all together for the coming season.
“Now it’s just being able to play together and learning how to play together and getting used to playing together,” Cariaso said. “This new group is new but I’m not worried about that. Mas worried ako sa being new as a unit kasi nga wala pa tayong games and wala pang experience etong group na ‘to.
“But I think now, we should be able to showcase what we have and this year, I only expect to improve as we move forward,” he added.
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