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UST, Mapua stars lead Magnolia’s PBL title bid
(October 27, 2008)

Magnolia Purewater (formerly San Mig Coffee) will parade an exciting mix of young and veteran players when it tries to end a three-year title drought in the 2009 PBL PG Flex Linoleum Cup which fires off on Nov. 8 at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig.

Though coach Koy Banal has retained the services of seasoned players like Al Magpayo, Eder Saldua, Neil Raneses and JP Alcaraz, all eyes will be on University of Santo Tomas star Dylan Ababou.

The 6-foot-3 forward is not promising anything but UST assistant coach Beaujing Acot believes the season-opening tournament of the country’s premier basketball league will be Ababou’s time to shine on his own.

“I’m sure he will play a major role in Magnolia’s title bid,” said Acot of Ababou, who played for two conferences with Harbour Centre.

Though he played only as second fiddle to three-time MVP Jason Castro, Sol Mercado and Jeff Chan at Harbour and Jervy Cruz at UST, Ababou still earned a ton of accolades from even the jaded observers with his working ethic and talent.

“He’s not a one-dimensional player, so he has the edge over other forwards of other teams. He can be as good as Gabe Norwood because he can provide everything not seen in the stat sheets,” said Acot. “As a coach, you can feel his presence inside the court.”

But he’s more of a scorer than Norwood.

Aside from his good shooting touch from the outside, Ababou can be as deadly as Norwood in the shaded lane because of his ability to float longer than other players.

“He can also create plays for his teammates even off a rebound play. He can also defend and rebound. That’s how valuable Ababou is,” added Acot.

Three other UST players, including Chester Taylor and Khazim Mirza, and two from Mapua – Jonathan Banal and Neil Pascual – will beef up Magnolia rooster. Also in the squad are former Ateneo star Ford Arao, Jomel Losentes, Paul Sorongon and Liztian Amparado – all veteran players.
“It’s a running and defensive team because coach Koy wants to have a flowing game with premium on defense. You will see a lot of ball movements this time,” said Acot who also have some nice words for Banal’s son – Jonathan.

“He’s cool and even some coaches from other teams are wary of Jonathan. He’s also one of the players to watch in the league,” said Acot.

If the UST and Mapua players can adjust easily to the system of coach Banal, then the Beverage Masters will have pretty good chances of ending their title drought. The last time the team won a title was during the time of Fil-Am Kelly Willimas, Arwind Santos, Denok Miranda and Mark Isip – all playing for different teams in the PBA.

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