Alaska off to immaculate start

RJ Jazul
(photo courtesy of PhilStar.Com)

It's funny how it was only a season ago when the Alaska Aces were cast as one of the proverbial "cellar dwellers" no thanks to their divorce with long time head coach Tim Cone. The players were listless and lethargic (hi Cyrus Baguio), the coach changed from Cone heir Joel Banal in the Philippine and Commissioner's Cup before settling with the then unimpressive Luigi Trillo in the Governor's Cup which was then followed by the exodus of team leader L.A. Tenorio who was coming off a brilliant stint with the SMART Gilas Pilipinas men's basketball team.

Well, what a difference some offseason trades and the PBA Draft does. While Tenorio's floor leadership and court savvy will be missed, the guy he was indirectly traded for- JVee Casio is no patsy. Clutch-wise, Casio is everything Tenorio is (and may be even more) and while the former King Archer is nowhere near half the ball handler his predecessor is, he makes up for it with crisp and timely passes while keeping the turnovers at a minimum.

We also love how the Aces' have suddenly developed this swagger of indifference-- anchored of course on rookie Calvin "The Beast" Abueva and his bossom buddy, "The Prototype" as we'd like to call him, Gabby Espinas. This conference, Espinas' contributions has taken a hit since he is undersized at the position he prefers (power forward-center) but Abueva has adapted to his new "small forward" role like a snake would its new skin (dude is averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 foul-plagued minutes a game).

Import Robert Dozier is also proving to be a steal with his 22 and 15 statline. We're not putting him on our Top 3 imports right now, but the guy is crazy efficient and works hard on the floor. Supporting him is Sonny Thoss, who is showing more offense as compared to the previous conferences. The mid range jumpshot has always been in Thoss' arsenal, but we now see him asking for the ball down low and backing opponents down with solid footwork (his back-back-drop right-spin left move is a joy to watch considering the absence of legit local post men these days).

And if the Aces' mighty frontline weren't enough, there's still Casio, Cyrus Baguio, Dondon Hontiveros and maybe a Raffy Reyes or RJ Jazul ready to come in and drop threes when needed. Baguio is obviously enjoying his role as the team's alpha scorer despite the presence of the beastly Abueva, and he hasn't failed them since day one.

We're not sure about the Triangle Offense that the Aces' claimed to be going back to though, we're seeing more motion offense, some isolation sets for Abueva and Baguio then a lot of perimeter oriented plays for the rest. Credit has to go to Trillo and his coaching staff for mixing it up. It would be nice if they could explore pick and rolls for Casio and Abueva.

On a side note, great team play by the Aces plus a series of lucky non-calls are the reason behind their quick 4-0 start. Hopefully, they sustain it going deeper into the extended Commissioner's Cup and give the contenders a run for their money.