WHY try to fix it when it ain’t broke?
Alaska intends to parade an intact roster in the coming 39th season of the PBA despite efforts by other teams to upgrade their respective rosters in the short offseason.
Coach Luigi Trillo pointed out that his team was a win away from reaching the semifinals of the recent Governors Cup, so he doesn’t see any reason why he needs to tinker with its makeup with trades at this point.
“I just wouldn’t do that (trading some of his players),” said Trillo, who led the Uytengsu franchise to its first league title in the post-Tim Cone era in the last Commissioner's Cup.
“I’m more of keeping my team intact because we’re actually one win away from reaching the semifinals again (in the Governors Cup), but we lost to San Mig.”
The youthful Alaska mentor admitted being approached by several teams to explore trade possibilities.
But given the success the Aces had this past season after winning the Commissioner’s Cup title and pushing eventual Philippine Cup champion Talk ‘N Text to six games in the semifinals, Trillo doesn't see any reason why he should entertain the feelers.
They Said It!
“I’m more of keeping my team intact." - Alaska Aces coach Luigi Trillo
“We made some trades in the past and we did that because we had some players who don’t want to be part of the team,” explained Trillo, without further elaborating.
The Aces are coming off an impressive 30-20 (win-loss) record overall last season, a huge improvement from their 11-24 mark the previous year which marked the team’s first campaign since Cone left for San Mig.
Trillo also denied rumors he’s transacting with Globalport to trade one of his players for the Batang Pier’s first-round pick this Sunday.
“No offer so far, and if they did (offer the first-round pick), I’m curious,” he said.
The Aces are considered one of the heavy favorites in the coming Philippine Cup as they will parade a solid core led by Finals MVP Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio, JV Casio, and Rookie of the Year Calvin Abueva.
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