Sirius Star Pilipinas braces for back-to-back duel vs Northball stars

CEBU, Philippines — The Sirius Star Pilipinas basketball team of Cebuano coach Albert Alocillo girds for a back-to-back exhibition games against the Northball All-Star selection as part of their sixth Philippine Tour next week.

Composed of American collegiate and pro-am cagers led by team captain Anthony Winningham, Sirius Star will first collide with the Northball squad on April 22 at the Carmen municipal gym in Carmen, north of Cebu.

They are then set for a grudge rematch the following day, April 23, the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.

In a press conference yesterday at Sunburst-Mango, Winningham said they’re looking forward to a tough battle against Northball as they parade a new batch of players from the United States.

“What makes this group of guys special is they’re different. They have better basketball IQ, each player that are in here understands the game. Most of the guys here I’ve seen played back in the United States. This group of guys I witnessed them play personally. Now we have 20 guys have played together and known each other personally, that makes us more competitive and more like a family,” said Winningham.

Coach Alocillo, for his part, said they will be making the necessary adjustments in an attempt to defeat the tough Northball side.

“We will try to balance everything and adjust depending on our opponents. We’re preparing for Northball and the players there who are mostly PBA players. Probably we make adjustments on beating them,” said Alocillo.

Sirius Star are expected to have their hands full against Northball, which is powered by PBA players in JR Quiñahan, Marion Mangubat and Robert Bolick together with Emmanuel Goc-ong, Froilan Mangubat and Steve Nash Enriquez. They will be joined by MAVS Phenom mainstays Gerard Zalameda, Bam Palaña, Richard Velchez, and Poypoy Actub.

Tickets are priced at P250 for general admission and P450 for the courtsided. For further details, one may visit the Facebook page of Sirius Star Pilipinas and Northball Basketball. — EBV