Miller, Baguio to debut against former teams

source: gmanews.tv

Two days after being involved in a blockbuster trade, both Willie Miller and Cyrus Baguio will be judged on Friday as they suit up for their respective new teams and play against each other in the main game of the PBA Fiesta Conference doubleheader at the Araneta Coliseum.

Barangay Ginebra and Alaska clash in a 7:30 p. m. match made more interesting following the intriguing deal that brought Miller, the two-time league most valuable player (MVP), to the Kings in exchange for the high-flying Baguio following the All-Start weekend.

Despite losing Baguio, Kings coach Jong Uichico said he is thrilled with the arrival of the enigmatic shooting guard out of Letran, whom he expects will need a couple of more games before finally settling in with Ginebra’s system.

“Of course it’s always nice to have a Willie Miller in your team. But we now have to wait for him to get use to our system. We have to be patient," said Uichico.

The 5-foot-11 Miller averaged 17 points, three rebounds and 4.5 assists in four games with Alaska this conference.

Aside from Miller, new Ginebra import Mildon Ambres will also have to adjust with the Kings’ brand of play. Ambres takes over the place vacated by Awvee Storey.

Storey, the Kings’ reinforcement in their first five games, is hurting with a dislocated finger in his right hand, but may be tapped anew if ever Ambres proves to be a flop.

Uichico admitted not seeing strong points on Ambres during evaluation periods since his arrival last Monday.

Like Miller and Ambres, eyes will also be on Baguio since he’ll be taking over the spot left by the player whom coach Tim Cone declared as the best closer in the league.

Baguio, a former All-Star Games Slam Dunk champion and Red Bull’s (now Barako Energy Coffee) second round pick in the 2003 Draft averaged 9.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists as a back up in Ginebra’s 3-2 (win-loss) slate.

The former University of Santo Tomas (UST) star is joining Alaska just when the Aces appeared to have snapped out of a slump, winning its last two games before the All-Stars for an even 2-2 slate.

Asked whether which team got the better end of the deal, Cone gave his reasonable thoughts.

“I don’t think one game would be enough to determine which team got the better end of the deal. Willie may score 60 points or Cyrus may be shut down once our teams meet, but you can only tell whether you made the right decision on the trade at the end of the conference," said Cone.

“Hopefully, our teams meet in the finals. That would be really, really interesting," he added.

The Kings have lost their last outing against San Miguel Beer, 102-94, in a game where the Beermen’s starters dominated their Ginebra counterparts, 87-41.

With interest more on the Kings-Aces tussle, the defending champion Beermen quietly gun for their sixth win in seven outings when they face Rain or Shine.

The Beermen are currently on top of the standings with a 5-1 card while the Elasto Painters are tied for fourth to sixth spots with the Kings and the Llamados (3-2).

Fresh from a 12-day rest, the Elasto Painters are also in a high after a 91-80 win over the Coca-Cola Tigers last April 16. – JVP/RCJ, GMANews.TV