Team to beat? Aquastars official doesn’t think so
CEBU CITY, Philippines—For MJAS Zenith Talisay City Aquastars team manager Jhon Santos, the Visayas leg of the upcoming Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup has a level playing field.
Several teams consider the Aquastars as the team to beat in the Visayas because of the presence of several veteran pro cagers in their roster.
The team is headed by its own big three comprised of MPBL and ABL veteran Patrick Cabahug, two-time PBA champion Paolo Hubalde, and multi-titled forward Val Acuña.
“Sa tingin ko, sa paper lang nakikita na malakas ang team namin. Pero sa totoo, pagdating sa court, five players lang yung naglalaro at bilog ang bola,” Santos said. “Lahat may chance na mananalo sa tournament. Pantay-pantay pa rin pagdating sa laro.”
(I think we’re only good on paper. Honestly, there’s only five players on the court and the ball is round. Everybody has a chance to win in this tournament. We’re all even when it comes to game time.)
Tip-off for the Visayas leg is scheduled on April 9, 2021 in Alcantara town, southwestern Cebu.
The team is expected to start training camp on March 15, 2021. Santos said that the Talisay City LGU prepared three separate venues for the team’s training camp. It includes the University of the Visayas (UV) gymnasium and Talisay city sports complex.
Although he doesn’t believe they are the team to beat in the Visayas leg, Santos is very confident of the team’s chances of winning the title.
“Our key and advantage to win is that these players have been together for so long. The team was already together before the pandemic. They were together through thick and thin. When it comes to the bond, it is strong. That’s our advantage,” said Santos.
On concerns regarding the bubble set-up, Santos isn’t worried. He said that most of the players are very used to being separated from their families for a long period of time, noting that some are based in Manila with their respective professional and collegiate teams.
Currently, the Aquastars are training individually in Manila. They are scheduled to arrive on March 15 to start their training camp in Cebu.
/bmjo
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