Toyota Otis to hold tryouts for new players

Hoping to sustain its impressive showing in the recent PBL Unity Cup, Toyota Otis will start on Wednesday a series of tryouts for new players to beef up its decimated lined up for the coming Silver Cup. Coach Louie Alas said they are in need of tall but mobile men and at least one point guard to be at par with the other teams in the league. "To be competitive enough, we need a dependable guard and at least two dominant centers," Alas, who is also the coach of the Letran Knights in the NCAA, said. "Right now, we only have eight players in our fold, including two new recruits," he added. The three-day tryout will start from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Among the marquee players who had left the team are Joe Calvin Devance, Mark Andaya, Aaron Aban, Jonathan Aldave, and spitfire Boyet Bautista. The Rey Oben-owned Toyota Otis squad surprised almost everybody last conference when the Sparks barged into the finals, beating along the way the league's certified giants — Magnolia Ice Cream and Rain or Shine. The Sparks, however, lost to Harbour Centre in a tense finals duel. JV Casio, the cool but deadly guard from De La Salle University, is expected to be the team's top playmaker with the departure of Bautista. The other remnants of the team are Dennis Daa, Erick Rodriguez, Christian Coronel and Gabby Fajardo while the new recruits are Floyd Dedicatoria of Jose Rizal University and former Far Eastern University (FEU) center Don Yabut. Alas said Devance, the MVP of the last conference, won't be back this conference as he's now working in North Carolina following his failed bid to play in the pro league. Oben and board representative Gil Angeles are hoping that Alas can rebuild the team, perhaps much better and stronger this time in order to win their first-ever championship in the country's premier amateur basketball league. - GMANews.TVM