Multi-titled American coach Tim Cone and his former lieutenant Luigi Trillo are looking forward to slam-bang action when their teams compete in the 2012 Mayor Mike Rama Cup basketball tournament slated Sept. 21 to 23 at the Cebu Coliseum.
“Always love it there and the Cebuano fans. Nothing like them,” said Cone in his Twitter account.
“I like going there (Cebu) because of the physicality of the game, which I think would help toughen us for the coming season,” said Trillo in report from spin.ph.
The Cone-mentored San Mig Coffee Mixers (formerly B-Meg Llamados) and the Trillo-coached Alaska Aces test their mettle against another PBA team Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters and top commercial team M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños.
The team that could pile up with the most number of wins will be crowned champions.
WALKOUT
The Aces and the Mixers recently played against each other in a pre-season game.
The game, however, was halted after Cone and his wards staged a walkout in the third quarter of the match.
Cone instructed his players to leave after he protested a flagrant foul penalty 1 slapped on Gerwin Gaco for hitting Alaska’s Eddie Laure in the face.
Cone clarified that it was not the call that caused them to leave. He said his players were still out of shape and they were still unfit for competitive basketball.
Ticket prices for the upcoming tournament are pegged at P30 (general admission), P100 (upper box), P200 (lower box), P250 (stage, reserved seats) and P300 (ringside). /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA