Louie Alas, Phoenix adjusting to playing without Calvin Abueva

MANILA Philippines–Phoenix Fuel coach Louie Alas took a long pause when asked about how his charges managed to soar to unprecedented heights in the season-opening conference only to come out flat out in the next.

“Hopefully, this Phoenix melodrama comes to an end,” Alas told a handful of reporters shortly after the Fuel Masters absorbed another tune-up loss, this time to leader-less Rain or Shine, 103-90, Thursday at Upper Deck in Pasig.

The Fuel Masters went through a whirlwind campaign in the Commissioner’s Cup marred by manpower woes and troubles in cohesion.

“We struggled in the latter part,” said Alas. “[Three] consecutive losses when we could only afford one.”

“LA (Revilla) got injured. Calvin (Abueva) got suspended. All of those things piled up,” the soft-spoken mentor added.

The Fuel Masters emerged as top seeds during the Philippine Cup, stringing up nine wins in 11 outings, but that drastically changed in the Commissioner’s Cup where they were only able to secure four victories that cost them the playoff race.

Alas said he is looking to address to rectify all that by instilling a different mindset, accepting that one of their key players in Abueva may not come back soon.

“I told them that from here on out, they should condition their minds playing without Calvin. Each and every one of us—including me—have to adjust,” he said as Phoenix ramps up its preparations for the Governors’ Cup.

“We need to flush that though out of our minds,” Alas added.

Phoenix, who are looking to tap import Eugene Phelps anew, braces for two more friendlies—one against a South Korean club—as the season-ending conference nears.

Meanwhile, Alaska is shipping many-time Gilas Pilipinas member Carl Bryan Cruz to Blackwater in exchange for Abu Tratter

The trade, which is awaiting the PBA office’s approval, was confirmed to the Inquirer by Aces governor Richard Bachmann, adding that the transaction was initiated by the Elite.

The development within the Alaska camp comes weeks later after the change in coaching and two-for-one deal that landed them another former national team player in Maverick Ahanmisi.