Nowhere to go but up for Blackwater

MANILA, Philippines - Blackwater Elite team owner Dioceldo Sy isn’t used to losing so with his PBA expansion franchise still winless in seven Philippine Cup games, he’s negotiating with two-time MVP Willie Miller to shake up things.

But Miller, 37, isn’t expected to make his Blackwater debut against NLEX at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow since negotiations are still ongoing. Sy confirmed Miller’s recruitment shortly after they met in the Elite dugout following Blackwater’s 90-82 loss to Purefoods at the Big Dome last Tuesday. While Sy declined to disclose details of the agreement, it was widely rumored that the deal is for 30 days extendable to one year.

“I never thought it would be this hard to win in the PBA,” said Sy whose teams have won championships in the PBL, WPBL and PBA D-League. “The level of competition is extremely high. It’s harder to win in the PBA than supporting the national women’s team.”

Sy backed the national girls squad, sponsored by Careline, for three years until 2010 and took over the management of the NU senior women’s team three seasons back. The high point of Careline’s journey was finishing in the top six of the FIBA Asia U16 Championships behind China, Japan, South Korea, India and Thailand in 2009. With Sy at the helm, NU went from last place to runner-up to the undefeated UAAP champion.

The other day, Sy conferred with SBP vice chairman Ricky Vargas on future plans of the national women’s team. Vargas said the choice of the next national women’s team coach will be included in the mandate of the SBP Search and Selection Committee headed by SBP executive director Sonny Barrios with the UAAP’s Junel Baculi, NCAA’s Fr. Victor Calvo, CESAFI’s Yayoy Alcoseba and NAASCU’s Dr. Jay Adalem as members.

Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said the team will keep on pushing until it breaks through. “We’re getting there, we’re trying to build character,” said Isaac. “Eventually, things will fall into place. We’re staying positive. We’re trying to make sure that frustration doesn’t set in. We’re not letting the negative things affect us. Our maturity level isn’t up to the average of PBA players yet. We get bogged down by offensive and defensive flaws. We’re hurt by costly turnovers. But in some games, we’ve shown a good defensive stance particularly against Alaska and Purefoods.”

Isaac said the lack of a go-to guy is something the team has to cope with. “We just try to create situations for everybody,” he said. “Our basic rule is if you’re free, take the shot. With Willie in the lineup, we hope things will be different because he’s a go-to guy.”

Sy said it’s been difficult to create chemistry among players from different backgrounds in less than three months. “This is a completely different team from our D-League lineup,” he said. “Only Bacon (Austria) and Robby (Celiz) are the holdovers. But we’re not giving up.”

Even as Sy is focused on improving his team’s fortunes in the PBA, he’s looking forward to rejoining the national women’s team as a major backer. Blackwater assistant coach Patrick Aquino is a candidate for the national women’s team coaching job along with Haydee Ong. Aquino took Ever Bilena to three WPBL titles, piloted the national girls team for three years and steered NU to the UAAP title in only his third year. This season, NU posted a 28-0 record, sweeping the Filoil Flying V Cup, the Uni-Games and the UAAP. The year before, NU went from last place to runner-up, losing to La Salle by a point in Game 3 of the UAAP Finals.

“I’m excited to be involved with the national team again,” said Sy. “It’s a privilege to serve our country. I think we have the talent and experience to win. We can bring in the first five of the NU champion team and the mythical five from other schools and leagues. We can also invite former UAAP and national players.”

Last year, the Philippines finished 10th at the FIBA Asia Women’s Championships and second at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Aquino said the goal is to capture the gold at the SEA Games next year. “We’ve got the talent,” he said. “We may lack size but we’ve got quickness and good shooters. Off-hand, I can name several candidates for the national team like Alyana Lim of FEU, Amby Almazan of Adamson, Gemma Miranda, Afril Bernardino and Shelley Gupilan of NU, Trisha Piatos of La Salle, Danica Jose of Ateneo, Clare Castro and Camille Sambile of FEU and Lor Rivera of UST.”

Sy said he has gotten the go-signal from SM Food Group president Herbert Sy to lend NU’s first five to the national women’s team. “The SM support is critical to the success of the national women’s team,” he said. “Like in the Gilas program, the Search and Selection Committee will come up with a list of candidates for the national coach. Once the coach is chosen, then the players will be named for the pool. It’s a consultative process that will cover the national basketball teams through different age-groups and levels.”