A few days ago, Reyes made another exception in Fred Williams. Nothing personal, he said. Williams just had to go because of his temperament.
"In the four games Fred played, we got into some spats," recalled Reyes. "He liked to blame referees and his teammates if things didn’t go right. During timeouts, I’d be talking about defense and he’d still be complaining about something that happened in offense. He wouldn’t sprint back on defense. I was forced to sit him against Shell and Hapee in crucial moments of the fourth period because he wouldn’t do certain things on defense. If your import sits for long minutes, maybe you’re better off getting somebody else. Off the court, he was fine – he got along with the guys, he worked hard in practice. But he was different during a game."
Reyes stopped short of calling Williams uncoachable and problematic although from the looks of things, he was both.
The Tigers’ loss to Hapee was the last straw. Coca-Cola blew a 28-pont lead in the first half to lose an 87-77 verdict in a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Samsung Governors Cup game last Feb. 26.
"It was freaky for us to lead by 26 at the half," said Reyes. "But just because it was freaky, losing that kind of lead was no excuse. We contained (Da-Vonn) Harp early but when Fred wouldn’t come down on defense, things got bad. Then, Fred left (Mick) Pennisi open twice for three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Without Fred playing defense, we broke down. That was the key."
Reyes said neither the coaching staff nor the players watched the replay of the nightmarish game. "Our 24-hour rule means we forget about a game, win or lose, after a day. In this case, we wanted to forget right away. It took a lot of discipline for us to just concentrate on the next game."
The night of the Hapee debacle, Reyes talked to Los Angeles-based Filipino import recruiter Mike Gonzalez – conveniently in town – for a replacement.
"I was eyeing Dez Ferguson after we lost to Shell but when we beat San Miguel the next game, I held off," continued Reyes. "Finally, I decided to make the change because our situation with Fred was too fragile. Sta. Lucia was considering Ron (Hale) but we made a firm offer. Mike made a long distance call and struck a deal. By 2 a.m., Wednesday, we had a faxed contract with Ron’s signature."
Reyes said if Coca-Cola management didn’t act quickly on his recommendation, the Tigers would’ve lost out in the race for Hale. "It was teamwork at its best," added Reyes. "From (team manager) J.B. Baylon to Mr. (Jing) Mesias, we got management approval to find a replacement. Ron was back in the US only a week after playing in Japan and wanted another week to rest. But we wanted him on the first plane out."
Hale flew in last Friday. Reyes called for an extra 9 p.m. practice last Saturday to prepare for the Purefoods game the next day. Everyone cooperated and Baylon treated the team to dinner after the late workout.
Hale turned out to be as advertised – young, athletic, quick, and talented. The 6-6 5/8, 210-pound forward did it all against the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs in his PBA debut last Sunday. Hale scored 40 points, on 13-of-18 field goals and 8-of-8 free throws, and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Tigers ended Purefoods’ unbeaten skein, 89-69.
Reyes said unlike Williams, Hale isn’t a ball hog. Williams took too long studying his options with the ball in his hands and the offense bogged down in the process.
After the Purefoods game, Reyes said he got a text from Coca-Cola president Jenju Lapez who noted that it was "a joy to watch real team effort." Lapez’ message was a big morale boost, added Reyes.
Hale was a 190-pound stringbean when he averaged 16 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior at Largo High School in Florida in 1995-96. He slowly bulked up and became a star at Florida State, an Atlantic Coast Conference contender in the NCAA Division I ranks. Florida State has produced such National Basketball Association (NBA) standouts as Dave Cowens and Sam Cassell.
Former Florida State coach Pat Kennedy described Hale as a Robert Horry-type – mobile, tough, solid, slender, rangy, and suited to the wing like the Los Angeles Lakers veteran. Hale played a year for Kennedy as a freshman. It was Kennedy’s successor Steve Robinson who moved Hale from the three-spot to two-guard starting his junior season. The results were glaring – Hale averaged 16 points, shot 47.6 percent from the field, and 80 percent from the line. He finished in twin digits in 22 of 30 games and hit at least 20 in 10. As a senior, Hale knocked in 37 against Wake Forest and 24 against Florida to average 15.6 points. He wound up his Florida State career with 1,236 points and was seventh in all-time triple conversions.
Hale, 24, teamed with ex-Red Bull import Tony Lang for the Mitsubishi Electric Melco Dolphins in the Japanese "super" league this season. He averaged 26 points for Mitsubishi. Last year, Hale saw action for Milwaukee in the Shaw summer league in Boston and in his most impressive showing, came off the bench to scatter 20 of his 22 points to lead the Bucks to an 89-82 win over the Celtics.
Coke’s next game is against Ferguson, whom Reyes bypassed, and Barangay Ginebra at the Cuneta Astrodome this Saturday.