SHABAZZ Muhammad is already in town, but whether he would be tapped to replace fellow former NBA campaigner Orlando Johnson as San Miguel Beer import remains to be seen.
According to a reliable source, Johnson will still reinforce the Beermen at least in their match against Phoenix Super LPG today in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Alaska and NLEX collide in the opener, with the Aces eyeing their fourth straight win, and third after it was announced that the conference would be their last in the PBA.
The Road Warriors have their sights trained on racking up a second straight win to improve their 4-3 record and enhance their chances of gaining inclusion among the top four teams that will be rewarded with a win-once advantage in the next round.
The Fuel Masters want to get back on track after an 83-103 loss to unbeaten leader Magnolia last Saturday, and break out of their current deadlock with SMB at fifth with identical 4-3 cards.
A major subplot is how Johnson would fare while playing under the microscope.
“Si OJ pa rin ang import ng San Miguel, but he will continue to be assessed,” the source told Malaya-Business Insight yesterday.
“Actually, pareho sila ni Muhammad na i-e-evaluate,” added the source. “Depende lahat sa kung sino tingin ng management and coaching staff would suit the team better.”
Muhammad, who spent five years in the NBA, was called immediately by SMB after Johnson fared poorly in his PBA debut last week when he tallied just 12 points on 3-of-22 shooting in SMB’s 81-96 loss to TNT.
Against Ginebra last Sunday, however, Johnson pulled off a mighty bounce-back game by shooting 12-of-19 from the field for 31 points on top of 10 rebounds and eight assists in leading the Beermen to a 110-102 win.
“If OJ continues to play well, then the longer he stays,” said the source. “Pero kumbaga (there’s) little room for error sa kanya kasi nga nandiyan lang si Muhammad.”
Muhammad was initially set to come in to reinforce Meralco, but “a family emergency” forced him to forego that plan. The 29-year-old last saw action for Grand Rapids in the NBA G-League before he was waived by the Gold last December.
