Powerade Tigers: Ready to Roar

Hearing the team name "Powerade Tigers" for the past few years would remind you of how bad they fare every conference: they didn't win a championship ever since the 2003 Reinforced Conference. For the past 7 years or so, the Coca Cola/Powerade  Tigers have only reached Quarterfinals only to be eliminated by powerhouse teams. But the management, coaching staff and players never gave up on the team for they knew that time would come where they would be ready to roar. 

For this season, Powerade has assembled a roster from the draft picks they had Smart Gilas standouts Jvee Casio (1st Pick), Marcio Lassiter (4th Pick), acquired Josh Vanlandigham and Doug Kramer from trades, re-signed Ricky Calimag and signing free agents like James Martinez, Rudy Lingganay and Alex Crisano - not much stars aside of course from Gary David but their vision was they are ready to roar and they wanted to be treated as the best. 

They ended the elimination round as #8 seed having to face top-seed B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados and win twice to enter the next round. Most of those who have followed B-Meg's Philippine Cup would believe that the match would be a piece of cake for the Llamados: who boasts a line-up of former league MVP James Yap, Peter June Simon, Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris & Joe DeVance but with Powerade's will, Gary D's golden hands and impressive offense-defense game, Powerade ousted the Llamados by winning twice and moving to the next round to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. 

As much as the Petron - TNT fans get excited for the rekindling of the rivalry the 2 teams that started last year, ROS-Powerade fans are excited of this match as well: First, this match is a shoot out: ROS and Powerade make a living at the 3 point line, I would say that whoever shoots well could win the series. The two teams boast of rookies like Jvee Casio, Marcio Lassiter and Paul Lee who plays like veterans. They have role players that could do the job for them: Doug Kramer, who has improved his game a notch higher with the Tigers, Rommel Adducul, Rudy Lingganay, Will Antonio... the support crew has done a wonderful job for the Tigers. Of course, Powerade has a steady-hand, Gary David whom everyone expects to show his 100%++ when the buzzer sounds for tip-off. 

Powerade had my respect before & now, they have it even more - A lot of basketball fans would be looking forward to this, with one new team getting a spot for the Championship. 

Posted in: PBA,Powerade Tigers