Pinoys can beat China–Trakh

Talk ‘N’ Text coaching consultant Maz Trakh said the other day a Philippine team built around Asi Taulava, Eric Menk and DaVonn Harp should be able to beat South Korea and possibly, China in a battle for Asian basketball supremacy.

Trakh said the Filipinos size is a big advantage over South Korea but added at least two pure shooters must be in the lineup to open up the interior for the frontliners.

Trakh is familiar with Asian-style basketball and would’ve gone to Seoul to help out the South Korean team if not for Bill Bayno’s invitation to visit Manila and sit on the Phone Pals bench in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) this month. Trakh has been consulted by South Korean coaches in the past on how to improve their national squad.

"Bill invited me to come to the Philippines," said Trakh. "He wouldn’t have invited me if he didn’t think the PBA was a first-class league. Talk ‘N’ Text is a great organization and the PBA is one of the best organized leagues I’ve ever seen. The league is competitive. The fans are great. But I think the season is too long. Bill was drained after coaching in two conferences last year. The players don’t get much of a break. Two weeks after a conference ends, the next conference starts."

Trakh said he’ll be in Manila until early October. Then he returns to the US to negotiate a renewal of his Phoenix Eclipse coaching contract in the American Basketball Association (ABA).

With Trakh as consultant, Talk ‘N’ Text has streaked to three straight wins after losing its season opener to Shell. At the forefront of the Phone Pals attack is 6-4 import Damien Cantrell, averaging 37.3 points and 14.5 rebounds. Cantrell is hitting .584 from the floor and .667 from the line.

Trakh described Cantrell as the perfect import for the PBA. "He works hard on both ends and fits in socially, too," noted Trakh who was Bayno’s assistant at Phoenix in the ABA and Yakima in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). "He’s a nuts-and-bolts player. Not spectacular but he gets the job done. I realize not too many white imports make it to the PBA but there are guys like Cantrell out there who can play."

Cantrell, 25, is a mestizo. He has Caucasian, African-American, Portuguese and West Indies bloodlines. "Wherever he’s played, Damien has won championships," said Trakh. "He’s a winner." Cantrell suited up for title squads in the US NCAA, Venezuela and the CBA.

Trakh said he would’ve brought in a selection to play in the recent Invitationals if only the PBA agreed. The lineup would’ve listed Cantrell, former NBA (National Basketball Association) players and some Fil-Ams. Two years ago, Trakh took a touring team to Mexico to play the national team starring Eduardo Najera and Eclipse center Horacio Llamas. Cantrell and Jimmy Alapag were in Trakh’s squad. He also coached the Electronic Arts Southeast All-Stars–featuring ex-PBA import Lelan McDougall, Fred Vinson and Alex Jensen–in exhibitions against Division I schools last season.

On the sidelines, Trakh often screams at Alapag. He said it’s nothing personal. "I’ve coached Jimmy before and I know what he’s capable of," explained Trakh. "It’s just in my style that I put a lot of pressure on the point guard. I yell at him because I expect him to yell back at his teammates on the floor. He’s the leader out there when the game is going on." Trakh also said he enjoys working with Phone Pals assistants Ariel Vanguardia, Virgil Villavicencio and Aric del Rosario and stressed he’s not after their job.

Trakh, who lives in Orange County, said there are several Fil-Am players making waves in the US. One is 6-1 guard Denver Lopez, a full-blooded Filipino who’s in the roster of Division I school Fullerton State. He said he’ll keep an eye out for Fil-Ams willing to play in the PBA.

Trakh was an assistant coach at Long Beach State and California State at Irvine before taking over the reins at Cabrillo College in 1999-2000. Then he joined Bayno in the ABA and later, Yakima in the CBA.

Vanguardia, meanwhile, told The STAR he can’t wait to be reinstated. He’ll end his five-game suspension in the Phone Pals’ game against Purefoods tomorrow. The suspension carries a ban on Vanguardia from stepping foot in a venue where a PBA game is being played, meaning he has been unable to scout live contests. Vanguardia rejoins the team when it plays Shell on Sunday.

Talk ‘N’ Text team manager Frankie Lim confirmed Norman Gonzalez has been reinstated after submitting documents certified by a psychologist that he will not require drug rehabilitation. Gonzalez is in the Phone Pals reserve list. Lim said PBA Commissioner Noli Eala fined Gonzalez the equivalent of a month’s salary, presumably as a penalty for taking the PBA to court in contesting his suspension after testing positive for using illegal drugs.