Ito ang misyon ngayon ng Port Masters ng owner na si Mike Romero na naatasan ng BAP-Sama-hang Basketbol ng Pilipi-nas sa ilalim ng presidente nitong si Manny Pangili-nan na kumatawan ng bansa sa torneo para sa mga champion ballclubs ng Asya.
Kasama nila Romero at Pangilinan na panauhin sa lingguhang PSA Forum sa Pantalan Restaurant ang buong team ng Har-bour Centre na ipinakilala sa media.
"Let’s bring back the glory," ani Romero. "This is the first Philippine team that will compete interna-tionally after FIBA sus-pension. And there’s pressure because 70 million Filipinos are expecting no less than the championship."
Malaki ang misyong ito para sa Port Masters dahil ang torneong ito at qualifying tournament para sa FIBA-Asia Cham-pions Cup na gaganapin naman sa Tehran sa Iran sa September kung saan ang All-Pro RP Squad ni coach Chot Reyes naman ang lalaban.
Ang Harbour Centre team ay binubuo nina Al Magpayo, Chico Lanete, Jason Castro, JC Intal, Jojo Duncil, Marvin Cruz, Jeffrey Chan, Jonathan Fernandez, Larry Rodri-guez, Doug Kramer, Ryan Arana, Patrick Cabahug, Chad Alonso, Gervy Cruz at Beau Belga sa ilalim ni coach Junel Baculi, George Gallent at Law-rence Cheongson.
Ang bawat team sa SEABA Champions Cup ay may dalawang import at kinukonsidera ng Har-bour Centre sina Julius Nwosu at ang Nigeria player ng San Beda na si Sam Ekwe.
"I’m quite excited. And it’s very important for us to win the championship if only to signal the return of the Philippines in inter-national competition. There’s no option but to win," pahayag ni Pangi-linan. "Will the games be a blowout? It will be difficult because each of the other teams are also allowed to field imports, like Thailand and Malaysia. We have to be vigilant with what these teams will be doing." (MBalbuena)