|
|
Shell in dire straits, but Ronquillo confident of big turnaround
MORE or less at about this time of the year last year, Shell Velocity and Perry Ronquillo were making heads turn in the Philippine Basketball Association All-Filipino Cup. It was the continuation of a surprising run that dated back to the 1998 Governors Cup when Ronquillo won his first title and made his Zoom Masters the overachieving bunch of the year. Ronquillo whipped this team into championship form in less than a year's time at the helm, but the team was wrecked, in a way, because it had to keep itself within the league's salary cap. Shell, in the process, did away with two key players in the off-season - Victor Pablo and Noy Castillo. The eloquent Ronquillo pushed several buttons just to make ends meet, so to speak, and make the Zoom Masters come out there as the team that they were last season. So far, in this year's Alaxan-AFC, it seems that the team has a major problem. A problem in the shape of a 6-foot-4 power forward whom he can't find anywhere on his bench. Shell has dropped all of its first three games here, the last a 75-80 decision to Sta. Lucia on Sunday which saw the Zoom Masters flub control and succumb at the crunch. And this marks the third straight year that the defending champ in this tournament has opened up with a 0-3 card. Sadly, as history tells us, the first two went on to lose their titles. In the worst start of his career, Ronquillo has manpower woes, that's the thing that glares most. He's never been out-coached in those three defeats, and has, in fact, taken his first three opponents to the limit, including rock-solid Tanduay to which he lost by only seven.
|
 |
Other Special Feature:
Get to read the email sent by Phoenix Sun in our section "From the Mailbox"
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
© 2000 Infinimedia Designs. All rights reserved. Site designed and maintained by Infinimedia Designs |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
