With his stars back, Derick faces tough act

By Noli Cortez
Malaya
September 21, 2007

Talk N Text coach Derick Pumaren has a delicate balancing act on his hands. It’s a job he welcomes, though.

With his veteran stars back on the roster after a stint with the national team, Pumaren may find it hard dividing the minutes among them and the rising stars of the team for the coming PBA season that starts on Oct. 14.

"I admit there may be a little problem with evenly distributing the players’ time on the floor, but that is one problem I welcome," he said, adding: "Kaysa naman tumitingin ka sa bench na wala kang mahugot, di ba?"

He is convinced there may not even be a problem.

"These guys are all professionals. I believe each one will be willing to subvert himself for the good of the team," he stated.

Jimmy Alapag, Asi Taulava and Renren Ritualo did not see action in the 2007 Fiesta Cup due to their commitment with the national team that played in the Jones Cup and FIBA-Asia tournament. In their absence, the likes of Mac-Mac Cardona, Jay Washington, Don Carlos Allado, Yancy de Ocampo and Donbel Belano stepped up and proved their worth.

It helps that Pumaren has limited his roster to 12, instead of the maximum 14 allowed by the league.

Also in the team are Harvey Carey, Egay Billones and Yousif Aljamal, the No. 8 pick overall in the rookie draft who was acquired from Air21 in a draft-day trade.

Dropped were Vic Pablo, Abby Santos and Jonathan Aldave, while the team is still evaluating Migs Noble and Patrick Fran.

Pumaren said there may still be additions, adding his new stars may even outshine the veterans.

When it comes to the crunch, however, he knows who to turn to. "Alapag, Taulava and Ritualo will make the difference."