Miller, Aces ink P12.6-M 3-yr pact

By Nelson Beltran
Philippine Star
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Veteran Willie Miller yesterday agreed to a contract-extension with Alaska Milk in time for the Aces first game in the 33rd Smart PBA Philippine Cup against the Talk n Text Phone Pals today at the Araneta Coliseum.

After a long-drawn negotiation, the two parties sealed a P12.6-million contract for three years.

Miller, winner of the most prestigious PBA individual award last year becoming the seventh player to win the MVP honors more than once, was to sign the contract last night.

“We came to terms only yesterday. But actually there had been no disagreement except on the length of the contract,” said Alaska team manager Joaqui Trillo.

Alaska and three other teams tipped to figure prominently in the championship race kick off their campaign in the season today.

It’s the season’s first doubleheader featuring preseason champion Purefoods against Sta. Lucia Realty at 4:35 p.m. and Fiesta Cup winner Alaska Milk versus Talk n Text at 7:20 p.m.

The Aces and the Phone Pals clash in an early rematch of their Fiesta Cup title showdown while the Giants and the Realtors figure in a duel of teams which made good impression in the recent preseason tourney.

Purefoods and Sta. Lucia failed to make it past the quarterfinals of the two tournaments last season but the two are expected to make impact this year following their aggressive buildup in the off-season.

Purefoods’ frontcourt is beefed up by the return of national player Kerby Raymundo and the arrival of Romel Adducul while its backcourt is boosted by Brandon Cablay, Chico Lanete and Ardy Larong.

Sta. Lucia, meanwhile, is the team with the most number of rookie recruits in Ryan Reyes, Melvin Mamaclay, Dennis Daa, Christian Coronel and Philip Butel. The Realtors are also likely to get tremendous boost from Joseph Yeo whom they acquired from Coca-Cola in exchange for Mark Isip and Cesar Catli.

Old mainstays Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino, Kelly Williams, Paolo Mendoza, Nelbert Omolon and Dennis Miranda are fresh from a two-week training stint in Boston, Massachusetts.

The whole Talk n Text team, on the other hand, is coming off a training stint in San Antonio, Texas then a series of tune-up games in Korea.

Third-placers in the All-Filipino and runners-up in the Fiesta Cup, the Pals are likely to remain strong contenders, especially on the return of Tokushima Fiba Asia championship veterans Asi Taulava, Jimmy Alapag and Renren Ritualo.

The Pals passed up from the draft and went through trading to acquire San Beda product Yousif Aljamal.

The team’s other new recruit is free agent Kalani Ferreria.

Like Talk n Text, Alaska kept the core of its old lineup but improved its ceiling in enlisting Ken Bono and JR Quinahan.

Another new face in the Alaska lineup is Junjun Cabatu whom the Uytengsu franchise acquired from Welcoat in exchange for Nic Belasco. Alaska unloaded Belasco to free up some room in the team’s salary cap.

At 33, Belasco still got a maximum contract for two years with the Dragons.