Barako out to bounce back

MANILA, Philippines - Newly appointed Barako Bull head coach Siot Tanquingcen said the other day he’s hoping to transform the Energy Cola into a defense-oriented unit and create a strong identity similar to what the former Red Bull franchise was known for.

Tanquingcen, 41, was recently named to take over from Bong Ramos after Barako Bull finished out of the playoffs with a dismal 2-7 record in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The Energy Cola gave up at least 100 points in six of its nine games. The local roster will remain the same for the coming Governors Cup with import Eric Wise the only new face in the cast.

Wise, 24, is a bulky 240-pound forward from the University of California at Irvine and the University of Southern California. His father Francois played five years in the PBA as an import with U-Tex (1981-82), Tanduay (1983), Manila Beer (1985) and Hills Brothers (1987). Francois, 55, is in the PBA record books as the sixth-leading career import scorer with 4,332 points in 118 games behind Norman Black, Bobby Parks, Sean Chambers, Lew Massey and Billy Ray Bates.  The Wise father-and-son import combination is the second to play in the PBA – the first pair featured Tony Washam, Sr. (Gilbey’s Gin, 1984) and Tony, Jr. (B-Meg, 2010). There have been 14 father-and-son combinations among local players.

Tanquingcen, who has captured PBA titles with Ginebra San Miguel (twice in 2004-05) and San Miguel Beer (2008-09), moved to Barako Bull as a coaching consultant before this season opened. The former UST point guard was undrafted in 1995 but worked his way to play for Sunkist and San Miguel Beer up to 1998 before transferring to the MBA in 1999.

Tanquingcen admitted his appointment came as a surprise. “It’s a challenge,” he said. “I told Boss George (Chua) that I’m no miracle worker. Of course, I’m excited to try to make Barako Bull a winning team. At the moment, we’ll focus on improving every aspect of our game. We won’t focus on wins and losses yet. We’re not setting goals as to how far we’ll go. It’s a process, that’s the important thing. It’s not about the results. My example is when a player takes a bad shot and makes it, the result is positive but you don’t want to go with a bad shot over time. If we improve our game, do the right things, the results will follow.”

Michael Chua, who supervises the team for his father George, agreed with Tanquingcen’s orientation. “We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league,” he said. “We hope to change that. A positive in our conference was the improvement of Carlo Lastimosa. With coach Siot, we’ll build a new character for our team.”

Tanquingcen will be assisted by Koy Banal, Art de la Cruz and Jigs Mendoza on the bench with Paolo Rivero as strength and conditioning coach. “I was happy in my previous role, helping out, giving inputs, staying in the background,” said Tanquingcen. “Then, this new challenge came. We’ve got a good mix of young and experienced players. I’ll admit we’re not the most talented team in the league but if we play together, if we work hard together, we can make things happen.”

Tanquingcen said Wise’s arrival is a story in itself as his father was a former PBA import. “Jim Kelly recommended Eric and our team manager Raffy (Casiao) brought him over,” said Tanquingcen. “We’ve viewed Eric’s games on tape. He’s a big guy. He played a lot of three in college but can definitely play four. He’s somewhat built like his father. I spoke with his college coach (Kevin O’Neill) and got positive feedback on Eric. We’re excited to welcome him to our lineup.”

Wise arrived from the US last Wednesday. He’s coming off a stint with Soleuvre in the Luxembourg league where he averaged 28.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 11 games with a scoring high of 43. In four years of college basketball, Wise never averaged less than double figures from 14.0 as a freshman to 16.3 to 16.2 and finally, to 11.9 in his only season with the Trojans varsity.

Barako Bull veteran and two-time MVP Willie Miller said his personal goal this conference is to make it back to the playoffs. “We won only two games (in the Commissioner’s Cup),” he said. “I think if we win five in the next conference, we’ll be able to qualify for the playoffs. We lost Dorian (Peña) because of an injury but if we play as a team with Eric, we’ll be able to do it.”

Peña suffered a partial tear in his Achilles tendon during a sprinting drill at practice and underwent surgery the other day. He’ll sit out the rest of the season. Miller, Jason Deutchman and Ronjay Buenafe were sidelined in Barako Bull’s 96-80 win over La Salle in a practice game at the Hoops Center the other day but they should be ready to play when the Third Conference opens late this month. Leading the Barako Bull scorers in the victory were Jeric Fortuna (14), Lastimosa (13), Keith Jensen (12) and Leo Najorda (11).