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Despite the addition of San Beda star Sam Ekwe in its line-up,
winning the SEABA Club championship for the second straight year is
not a sure thing for Harbour Centre-Philippine team.
For one, host Indonesia is reportedly getting
two tough imports in its burning desire to get back at RP-Harbour
team when the import-laden annual tournament begins on April 3 in
Jakarta.
Though reinforced by imports Julius Nwosu and
Vidal Massiah, and several other PBL stars, Harbour-RP squad still
experienced some scary moments before turning back the determined
challenge of the Indons in the one-game title showdown watched by
hundreds of Filipino migrants.
Without Nwosu and Massiah to call and defend
against Indonesia’s imports this time, the task ahead looks
extremely difficult for Harbour-RP team.
With little time to prepare and contact top
caliber players in the United States and Europe, Harbour Centre
owner Mikee Romero and his trusted lieutenant Erick Arejola decided
to stick with their PBL line-up plus Ekwe for tournament that will
also be participated by Malaysia and Thailand.
The team is on roll, winning the last four
tournaments in the country’s premier amateur league. But the
coming tournament will be a different story.
Though Romero and Arejola have high respect for
their players, they both remain wary of their title-retention bid
since they don’t have any idea on who will be Indonesia’s
imports.
Thailand and Malaysia are not expected to play
with imports.
“Right now, we’re facing a blank wall,”
said Romero. “Just like last year, we have to play passionately to
overcome the odds and keep our dominance in the region.”
“It’s not easy to play against a team with
two imports. Last year, we also had two imports but we still
struggled to win the title,” added Romero, who turned 37 on Holy
Friday.
According to Arejola, Ekwe, the tallest in the
team at 6’7”, has been practicing with the Harbour-RP team since
Monday but coach Jorge Gallent is still looking for a big man.
“If we can get another big man, then I can say
that we are ready to defend our title,” said Gallent. “What will
happen to us if Sam gets into foul trouble early?”
Jason Castro, TY Tang, Beau Belga, Chad Alonzo,
Jonathan Fernandez and Solomon Mercado are cinch to make it into the
team. The final composition of the team will be announced this week.
Unlike last year, Harbour-RP team can’t afford
to drop a game since it’s going to be a short tournament with the
No. 1 team in the round-robin winning the title.
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