PBA: Powerade Tigers 2012 Draft preview

2011-12 season recap:

• Philippine Cup: 6-8 (8th) lost 3-4 in the Finals to Talk N’ Text
• Commissioner's Cup: 4-5 (7th) eliminated in the first round
• Governors' Cup: 4-5 (7th) lost a knockout game to Meralco

What happened? The Powerade Tigers looked like a much different team entering this season. They drafted Jvee Casio and Marcio Lassiter to play alongside the always-explosive Gary David. That suddenly gave the team a three-pronged attack, which they used to great success for most of the Philippine Cup. The Tigers made their mark upon the league when they entered the quarterfinals as the eighth seed, going up against the top-seeded B-MEG Llamados, a match-up that had some pundits giving Powerade “no chance in hell” to win. Riding Gary David’s insane shooting, the Tigers shocked the world and pulled off a monumental upset over the Llamados. They continued their upset streak all the way to the Finals, where reigning champions Talk N’ Text put an end to their upset hopes. They looked poised to make another run in the reinforced conferences, but a bad mix of injuries and a chemistry altering mid-season trade derailed the team’s chances for any other playoff bids. They relied too much on Gary David for the rest of the season and their superstar’s body eventually broke down before their KO game against Meralco (although he still managed 22 markers in the loss). Where do they go from here? The entry of Mikee Romero into the PBA ushers an end to the Powerade era just as the team had began their ascent into league relevance. Romero bought the Powerade franchise, and the sale is expected to be approved, probably by the time this article has been posted (Friday afternoon, August 17). His influence will definitely reach far beyond the team’s name (rumored to be GlobalPort). Romero has always been known to be one of the most competitive sports franchise owners. He’s passionate and knowledgable about the sport. It is expected that he will make intelligent business and basketball decisions, which will definitely benefit the soon-to-be GlobalPort team. A lot of changes are expected coming into next season. However, make no mistake, he’s in it to win. GlobalPort will still have a very solid core of David, Casio, Rey Guevarra and Rabeh Al-Hussaini, that is, if they decide to keep them together, what with rumors of changes in coaching staff and roster swirling. What do they need most? Powerade needs a glue guy. The team has one of the most devastating scorers in the league, a spitfire point guard, a post player with an outside touch, and an exciting wing who can finish the break. On paper, all these weapons look impressive. On the court, this line-up has been isolation-heavy, which often results in a contested David jumper. The Tigers may just need one final piece to put it all together. They need someone who brings in the intangibles like leadership, chemistry and toughness, someone in the vein of Tony Dela Cruz, Marc Pingris or Larry Fonacier. Possible trades GlobalPort can easily trot out the same line-up to start next season. But it wouldn’t be such a stretch to see this team trade away Gary David. Trading away David ensures that any GlobalPort starts fresh and they don’t carry any of the Powerade identity for next season. GlobalPort also won’t have to pay a 34 year-old player a max contract for the next 3 years. David can probably net GlobalPort the second overall pick and Bonbon Custodio or the third overall pick and Joseph Yeo. They can then play the top picks from the past three drafts in Casio, Al-Hussaini and Cliff Hodge, Chris Tiu or Calvin Abueva come next season. That’s a great young core Romero can build on.  - AMD, GMA News