MANILA, 25 August 2007 — San Miguel will try to go all the way in the coming PBA Philippine Cup — but not with Chot Reyes calling the shots.
The Beermen will try to avenge a stinging defeat in the Philippine Cup Finals to Barangay Ginebra last year with a different man mapping out the plays as Siot Tanquingcen has earned a fresh mandate to coach San Miguel for the coming tournament at least.
“That’s what I have been told (by management),” Reyes told Arab News over the phone yesterday. “I will take a break for a while and then see what happens afterwards. The team is in good hands.’ The league’s 33rd Season opens on Oct. 14 with the Beermen, along with the Gin Kings, labelled as one of the teams to beat mainly because of potent lineups that could pass as All-Star squads.
San Miguel won the first two games of the best-of-seven Finals last year, with Reyes masterfully calling the shots.
But under Jong Uichico, the winner of the PBA Press Corps’ Coach of the Year award, the Kings rallied and won the next four games to close out the series via a 4-2 scoreline.
It was indeed one of the most bitter pills to swallow for Reyes, who has since been called for National duty and steered the Philippine Team to a ninth place finish in the Fiba-Asia championship in Tokushima, Japan, earlier this month.
“Right now, this is his (Tanquingcen’s) team,” San Miguel manager and former National team superstar Hector Calma told Arab News in a separate phone interview.
Tanquingcen did a great job pinch-hitting for Reyes when he was with the National team, almost taking San Miguel all the way to the Finals of the Fiesta Cup despite a lineup severely depleted with the absence of Danny Seigle and Dondon Hontiveros.
“I just want to do my job the best I could,” Tanquingcen said. “It really doesn’t matter if I coach for one game or one conference. The important thing here is that I should be able to deliver and justify management’s trust.”
Meanwhile, the Beermen have started preparations for the tournament and have welcomed back Seigle and Hontiveros but could miss big man Dorian Pena because of a leg injury.
Calma also said that he has come to terms, in principle, with Draft picks Samigue Eman and Jonas Villanueva. Calma said that he expects both to sign two-year deals on Tuesday morning.
Eman, selected second overall, was the only high-profile player picked from the pool who wasn’t offered a three-year deal.
Joe Devance, the No. 1 selection, yesterday signed his first professional contract with Welcoat, a pact that would amount to P8.544 million excluding perks and bonuses.
The Criminal Justice studies graduate from the University of Texas in El Paso will receive P150,000 a month in his first year, P225,000 in the second and P337,500 in the third.
Part of his deal includes a one-month bonus for winning the Rookie of the Year, half-a-month each for taking the Dragons to the quarterfinals and the semifinals and one month if the team makes the title series.
Winning a championship would mean a bonus of 1.5 months.
Ryan Reyes, picked third overall by Sta. Lucia, signed a similar deal after the Realtors had turned down numerous trade offers for the 6-foot-1, California-raised point guard.
