BAY Area treated Filipino fans to an unforgettable stint in the mid-season tourney last year—falling in a historic Game 7 to the country’s most popular team, Ginebra.
This time, another foreign guest team in Hong Kong’s Eastern will try to succeed where the Dragons failed when it sees action in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup that opens shop on Wednesday next week, Nov. 27, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Eastern can field either former NLEX and San Miguel Beer import Cameron Clark as reinforcement or 6-foot-10 Chris McLaughlin in the tilt featuring imports with unlimited heights.
The 6-foot-6 Clark and McLaughlin are seeing action for the squad in the ongoing East Asia Super League Home and Away Season 2.
Pro league chief Willie Marcial said earlier the same rules on reinforcements will be applied by the league on Eastern.
Under PBA rules, the original import choice can be replaced for any reason but should be relegated by the team to the injured/reserve list so he can be eligible to suit up anew.
Failure to place the import on the injured/reserve list means the team won’t be able to bring him back.
The replacement reinforcement, once substituted, will no longer be able to return for the rest of the side’s bid.
Reigning two-time Governors’ Cup best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Ginebra star reinforcement Justin Brownlee spearhead the field of imports.
Akil Mitchell already showed he could be a beast when he led the Meralco Bolts past reigning Korean Basketball League champion Busan KCC Egis 81-80 last week.
The 6-foot-9 American-Panamanian uncorked a game-high 33 points and 22 rebounds in the comeback victory.
Northport will parade 6-foot-11 Kavell Bigby-Williams, a former member of the Great Britain men’s national team and cousin of former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, while Phoenix chose 6-foot-9 Donovan Smith.
Converge chose former NBA player Cheick Diallo. A second-round pick by the LA Clippers in the 2016 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-8 Diallo was a former teammate of former Phoenix main man Matthew Wright with the Kyoto Hannaryz in the Japan B.League.
Another former member of the Great Britain men’s national team, Ryan Richards, will beef up Terrafirma, while Rain or Shine went with former Cameroonian national team cager Kenneth Kadji.
NLEX earlier announced NBA veteran Ed Davis would be its import, but a last-minute family emergency forced Davis to pull out of a maiden stint in Asia’s pioneering pro league.
The likes of Bay Area’s Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson wowed the nation of cage-crazy fans the last time out with their exploits. The burning question now is, can Eastern equal or surpass the Dragons’ bridesmaid finish?
