Add-Mix Solid as They Come
by Joseph W Buduan (February 18, 2010)

Head coach Leo Austria is returning to the PBL, and he is also bringing in the team he currently handles in the UAAP. Add-Mix, a construction materials firm, will be carried by the core of Austria’s Adamson Falcons in the upcoming PBL conference. The last time Austria, a former PABL star himself, was in the PBL, he won the 2002 Challenge Cup for Welcoat Paints, with stars such as Rommel Adducul, Eddie Laure and Ronald Tubid, all of whom are now pro stars as well. He had won two other PBL championships with Shark Energy Drink from 2000 – 20002, starring the likes of Roger Yap, Gilbert Malabanan and Chester Tolomia. Ironically the titles he won with Shark were at the expense of his last PBL team in Welcoat.

Austria seems to have a gift for turning teams that were once so-so or mediocre into champions, or at least winners, at whatever level, be it in the PBL, the college varsity wars, or even the pro league. He also seems to have this knack for making MVP winners out of offbeat players. Roger Yap was a hotshot in Cebu and was a known gunner when he was with Chowking / Shark. It took a Leo Austria however to make him a PBL MVP and give him the skills to transition into a complete guard for the pros. When Austria became head coach of the Adamson Falcons in 2005, he steered Adamson to its only Final 4 appearance since the UAAP instituted that system. He also made an MVP of Ken Bono, the multi-skilled big man who battled weight issues as a college star. “He never made weight an issue with Ken, as long as Ken could keep up with his system he never had issues with weight,” said one long-time Ken Bono fanatic.

Austria will certainly need all his tricks for this particular PBL outing, since he will be handling a team that is not quite as star-studded as his old PBL teams from nearly a decade ago. Seven Adamson varsity mainstays will be seeing action for Add-Mix: the lightning quick pointguard duo of 5-foot-7 Jeric Canada and 5-foot-8 Lester Alvarez, 6-foot off-guard Alex Nuyles, 6-foot-2 swingman Mac Lozada, 6-foot-3 forward Janus Colina, 6-foot-6 center-forward Arnold Basilio, and 6-foot-6 center Mike Galinato. “These were the only guys who were eligible for the PBL, all of the other Adamson players are not yet ready for the PBL,” explained Austria.

Add-Mix, true to its own company product, will have a couple of other college stars joining the Adamson core of players to form a solid nucleus. 6-foot-4 center-forward Giorgio Ciriacruz out of Arellano University, an NCAA Season 85 Mythical 5 selection, 6-foot-5 forward Jake Pascual out of the mighty San Beda program, and Austria’s own boy Raymond, a 6-foot-1 swingman out of UAAP back-to-back champion Ateneo, will be joining the Falcons. There might be a hidden MVP in this group, knowing how good Austria works with players that have talent but just seem to be below the radar of the mainstream basketball community.

Practices have been a little tricky for Add-Mix the last time Austria spoke of it. The Adamson University gymnasium was still under renovation as of this writing, and it needed another couple of weeks to be ready for use. In the meantime, Add-Mix was using the nearby Tanduay Gymnasium in Quiapo, just a few kilometers away from the Adamson campus in San Marcelino. Sometimes Austria and company would see Cobra and Cossack coming in for their own practice sessions. They will be meeting both of those Bong Tan-backed teams in this coming PBL conference. “Yes, we run into each other a lot since we are using the Tanduay gym while the Adamson gym is still under renovation, and sometimes we wish each other good luck,” Austria said with a little laugh.

Toughness and patience on defense, and quickness and exploiting mismatches on offense are Austria staples, and this should once again be the key to success for Add-Mix. He may have to be a little more creative with Add-Mix though, than he was for his former PBL teams. He does not quite have superstars on this team in the mold of a Yap or an Adducul, and it could be a nerve-wracking test in every game for his younger players who will be playing PBL ball for the first time and are not exactly used to the speed, strength and let-go let-play officiating.

Austria can surely turn to his quicksilver duo in the backcourt to make things happen though. Both Alvarez and Canada are arguably the fastest things on two feet in modern Philippine basketball. Canada in particular has become a legitimate college superstar with his ability to cut up even the tightest defenses with his blinding speed. All he needs is to set up his drives and slashing with a good dribble or two and in a flash he has left his man in the dust. Even the best big men protecting the lane have a hard time getting to him because he drives and elevates so quickly, they hardly have time to react and try to block his shot. Even in the few times that defenses are able to meet him, he has gotten better and better as a passer at finding teammates sneaking along the baseline with dump passes, or forwards who have curled away from the high pick-and-roll for the kick-out pass.

Since Canada has both Ciriacruz (baseline) and Pascual (pop-up jumper) his assists totals should be pretty good. Alvarez is every bit as good as Canada, with a better jumpshot to boot, and he always plays under control, unlike Canada who tends to get carried away at times. “They (Canada and Alvarez) will be important, but I am also expecting a lot from our draft picks, like Gio Ciriacruz who I think has PBA talent,” declared Austria.

Add-Mix should be good and ready to compete every game in the PBL. Having a coach like Austria guarantees that. If they can get into a good enough rhythm as a team, and maybe even as a family, they might ambush some of the more favored teams who think they will be easy pickings. “All we can do is work hard and prepare and practice as best we can, and maybe with some lucky breaks we can win a few games,” Austria said.

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