Banal steps down as Alaska coach

THE COACHING carousel for the Alaska Aces keeps on spinning as head coach Joel Banal stepped down over the weekend in the wake of two dismal finishes with two thirds of the season done in the PBA.

Banal, who was appointed as head coach following the decision of longtime mentor Tim Cone to be released from his contract, guided the squad to a ninth place finish in the Philippine Cup and failed to advance past the quarterfinals stage in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup.

“The goal of the Alaska franchise is to be in the semis of every conference and we did not meet that goal in the past two conferences, so I wanted to give management the chance to look at options,” Banal said in the team’s statement to the press.

Team owner Wilfred Uytengsu praised Banal’s efforts and his selflessness in looking out for the team’s best interest, in this case, a suitable coach that may continue the winning legacy of the once-proud franchise.

“Joel heeded our call when Tim abruptly asked to be released from his live contract (intimating he wanted time away from coaching) and Joel stepped in at our request with very short notice and worked hard to continue Alaska’s success. Unfortunately, it did not go the way we had wanted,” Uytengsu added.

In Banal’s stint as coach, Alaska was also missing the services of key cogs such as Tony dela Cruz and Brandon Cablay, both of whom were out because of back surgeries, and Wesley Gonzales, who was recovering from a knee surgery. Young guns Hans Thiele and Ariel Mapana were also out with lower back ailments.

In Banal’s place, the Aces selected Luigi Trillo to be the team’s interim head coach.

PBA legend, Jojo Lastimosa, was also a candidate for the position. But in the end, Trillo got the gig by virtue of his experience as head coach in the PBA D-League, where he coached the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems.

“Alaska has a winning tradition and we look forward to the challenges ahead. We can’t wait to get started,” Luigi Trillo said.

The Aces also announced they will be bringing back Jason Forte as their import for the third conference. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio