Birthday Greetings to Napoleon Hatton ( Dec 20 )

ALASKA coach Tim Cone was criticized for initiating a massive facelift at the Uytengsu ballclub early this year. Detractors claimed that Cone's move was suicidal and could only lead to the downfall of the Airmen this year. Critics rationalized that Alaska made the finals of the 1990 Third conference and thus an overhaul was uncalled for. But Cone stood pat. He recruited eight new players four of them rookies. Drafted from the amateur pool were Alex Araneta, Eugene Quilban and Roehl Gomez. Plucked from among the rookie free agents was Francisco Navarro. Acquired in a trade from Purefoods was Jojo Lastimosa. In another trade with Sarsi, Alaska got Nap Hatton. And last, the Airmen signed up veteran free agents Peter Aguilar and Fernando Garcia. Despite such a move, Alaska nearly made it to the semifinal round of the First Conference. Early elimination somehow did the Airmen some good as they got more time to know each other better.

Nap was born on December 20, 1964 in Bacolod City. He is the third of six kids (George, William, Nap, Edgar, Tess and Donna) of Nap, Sr. and the former Dolores Leyte. After finishing his secondary studies at Sumag High school, he went on to complete a three-year course in Marine Engineering at the Visayan Maritime Academy. He was all set to go out to sea when his brother George persuaded him to try-out for the UNO-R team. George had played for the Recoletos before. Sensing he had a future in basketball, the 6-3 Nap went to UNO-R and quickly impressed coach George Acot and so he played one season for this school. It was here that he was spotted by scouts from San Sebastian College, another Recoletos school. The next thing he knew was that he was on his way to Manila to play for the SSC Stags in the NCAA alongside Paul Alvarez, Quilban and other superstars. He became part of the team that won two NCAA senior division titles. "Iba rin si coach Francis Rodrigue Bahala ka sa diskarte mo. Kung ano ang gusto mo'ng gawin, gawin mo. Kaya na man nabubuo ang kumpiyansa ng isang player." From San Sebastian, he moved on t Crispa and Sta. Lucia Realty in the PBA before making the jump to the PBA last year.

Another ex-Sarsi Sizzler on the Alaska fold, Nap was acquired in a trade which involved Elpidio Villamin. From 22 games in 1990, he saw action in 43 games for the Airmen and saw his scoring improve slightly from 6.1 to 7.0. He nearly figured in a fracas with Ginebra San Miguel playing-coach Robert Jaworski in an out-of-town game in Baguio City. The left-handed Hatton is a dead-shot from the threepoint region but he is likewise a high-leaper. He played for San Sebastian College in the NCAA and Sta. Lucia realty in the PBL. His contract with the Airmen expired last December but he won't find difficulty looking for a new pact. He was traded to Pepsi Cola.