Bono, Quiñahan give Alaska more ceiling

By Reuel Vidal
Manila Standard
September 14, 2007

Reigning Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference champion Alaska Aces just got a lot bigger after signing their rookie draftees—reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player Ken Bono and Cebuano firebrand JR Quiñahan.

Alaska general manager Joaqui Trillo revealed that Bono was signed to a three-year contract, the maximum length allowed by the PBA, while Quiñahan signed up for two years.

“We’ve become very tall now with the addition of Bono and Quiñahan,” said Trillo. “We’re glad to have Bono, who is a very intelligent player. He reminds me a lot like Bong Hawkins. He passes very well and can draw out defenses because he can score from the outside.”

Trillo said the Aces were surprised to find Bono still undrafted when their time to draft came and readily grabbed him.

“Bono is very deceiving,” said Trillo. “He is big, but he is not slow. He has great range. He can score from anywhere on the court, including the 3-point distance. He’s an unstoppable scorer, who can be very helpful to our team.”

The Aces inked bruiser Quiñahan to a two-year pact.

“Proktoy [Quiñahan’s nickname] is also a great addition to the team,” said Trillo. “He has very long arms and rebounds very well. He is a very good defender. With the two [Bono and Quiñahan], we won’t be as quick or as athletic as before. But we’ll be a bigger and smarter team.”

After winning the past Fiesta Conference, the Aces have high hopes for the coming All-Filipino Conference.

“It’s really hard because we’ve been a champion team,” said Trillo. “We want our success to carry over. Of course, members of the national team have returned and will be playing for their mother teams. It will be a big, big challenge for us. But we’re not backing down. Our expectation is that we’ll be in the thick of the fight for the championship.”

Trillo said they’ve kept the team together for as long as possible. The players have been together for so long and already genuinely like to be with each other.

Next up for the amiable GM is to sign up their free agents, including 2007 MVP Willie Miller, Jeff Cariaso, Dale Singson, Rency Bajar, Christian Luanzon and new player Junjun Cabatu, who was given up by Welcoat in exchange for veteran Nic Belasco.

“We want to renew everybody’s contract,” said Trillo. “But that may not be possible. We’ll have sleepless nights deciding just who to sign up for new contracts and who to pass up on.”

Also up next, the Aces will award rings to each member of the past champion team.

“We always give rings to our players after we win a PBA championship. I have 12 rings now ready for the players. In two weeks, we’ll have this ring ceremony. It’s a tradition. The players look forward to this. Why not, when they will receive a ring to cherish forever.”