Coach Ryan Gregorio and his champion troops vowed nothing will change in their character and attitude even as the Purefoods TJ Giants have officially changed their name to the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados.

Gregorio said the Llamados will be a fighting team more than ever and will work hard in the coming PBA Fiesta Conference in a bid to achieve a double championship in the season.

“We promise the fans that we will keep up the legacy of Purefoods,” said Gregorio as they adopted a new team name which they will start using in the PBA Fiesta Conference set to begin Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

“Our change in name doesn’t change the character of our team. We will be gunning for back-to-back titles,” added Gregorio to roaring approval of B-MEG officials gathered at A-Venue Hall in Makati Wednesday.

San Miguel Pure Foods Company president Butch Alejo was on hand to present the team to top officials and key personnel of B-MEG, a flagship brand of San Miguel Pure Foods' feeds business.

"We believe that our B-MEG brand will benefit from the tremendous exposure PBA gave to the Purefoods TJ Giants. We expect the Derby Ace Llamados to carry on the winning tradition of the TJ Giants," said Alejo.

"And being one of our flagship brands, we hope it delivers the message to our customers that San Miguel Pure Foods always produces high quality and affordable products, from farm to play, 24 hours a day, and we will do so in many years to come," Alejo added.

"I assure our long-time supporters and the new fans of B-MEG, that we will continue to play our best and win their hearts in every game. Our combined skills, intense training and incessant passion to win will ultimately lead us to another victory," said team manager Alvin Patrimonio.

Team governor Rene Pardo is confident they would keep their winning tradition as they've done while undergoing several name changes from Coney Island Ice Cream, Purefoods Oodles, Purefoods Chunkee to Purefoods Tender Juicy.

The franchise joined the pro league in 1988 and has since won eight championships, including five in all-Filipino tourneys.

After topping the last Philippine Cup, the team is raring to sustain its drive in the coming Fiesta Conference, hoping import Lorrenzo Wade would be a perfect fit with team's local crew.

Gregorio said San Miguel and Alaska loom as the biggest threats to their target of achieving the modern-day grand slam.

The Beermen beefed up their backcourt by acquiring Sta. Lucia Realty’s Joseph Yeo in a deal that shipped former University of the East hotshot Bonbon Custodio to the Realtors.

San Miguel is bringing back Gabe Freeman as its import. The Beermen also acquired Alex Cabagnot from Air21 (formerly Burger King) in exchange for Mike Cortez.

Alaska, meanwhile, bolstered its frontline by snapping up free agent Samigue Eman near the end of the All-Filipino tournament. (SB)