MANILA, Philippines - Katatakutan pa rin ang bagong kampeon na Indonesia Warriors sa idaraos na pang-apat na taon ng regional basketball league na planong buksan sa Enero.
Ito ay matapos ihayag ni champion coach Todd Purves ang kanyang hangarin na panatilihin ang key players ng Warriors na tinalo ang San Miguel Beermen, 78-76, noong Sabado sa Ynares Sports Arena sa Pasig City.
“Its not too early because I plan to start rebuilding right now,” wika ni Purves nang tanungin kung may plano na siya para sa pagpapalakas ng koponan bilang paghahanda sa planong pagdepensa ng titulo na hindi pa nangyayari sa kasaysayan ng liga.
“We have signed Stanley Pringle for two more years. I also love both of our imports, Steve Thomas at Evan Brock, and definitely, I’ll look forward to resigning them. They are great people who got character and integrity from the start and did their jobs during tough times,” dagdag ni Purves.
Si Brock ang hinirang bilang MVP sa Finals sa naihatid na 21.67 puntos at 13.7 rebounds.
Hindi naman maiiwan ang mga Filipino imports na sina Jerick Canada at Joseph Allan Salangsang na pilit niyang pababalikin.
Si Canada ang pambato ng Warrior sa bench at nag-average ng 7.65 puntos, 2.75 rebounds at 3.8 assists.
“Canada’s learning curve has been so stiff to where he is now compared to how he started the season. Salangsang has made the big shots for us all year and is a competitive defender,” pagpupuri pa ng 40-anyos na coach na nakuha ang unang basketball title upang isama sa isang American Football league title na nangyari apat na taon na ang nakalipas.