5 days Ago By N/A (Reynald I. Magallon)
Becoming the benchmark for league reinforcements after steering TNT to a second straight title in the Governors’ Cup, Hollis-Jefferson is set for return but will have a different look this time as the PBA opens its door to towering imports after lifting the height limit for the mid-season conference. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is getting a mix of new faces and old hands to challenge him as imports in the upcoming PBA Commissioner’s Cup. Becoming the benchmark for league reinforcements after steering TNT to a second straight title in the Governors’ Cup, Hollis-Jefferson is set for return but will have a different look this time as the PBA opens its door to towering imports after lifting the height limit for the mid-season conference.
Ricardo Ratliffe is one of the familiar faces making his return to the PBA shores as he gets some sort of homecoming with Magnolia – seven years after he last played for the franchise and before spending most of his time as an import in the Korean Basketball League. Like the Hotshots, the Barangay Ginebra Kings are hoping to have Justin Brownlee back for another tour of duty following a Finals appearance in the last Governors’ Cup. Head coach Tim Cone revealed that Ginebra is still likely to stick with Brownlee after talks of the resident import taking a conference off surfaced following their loss to the Tropang Giga in the Finals.
Also returning for a second straight conference is Blackwater import George King who took the league by storm with his scoring prowess in the Governors’ Cup. Even PBA guest team Hong Kong Eastern is set to parade Cameron Clark who is no stranger to the PH brand of basketball, having played for NLEX and San Miguel in the past. Meanwhile, leading the wave of new imports is Converge’s 6-foot-8 reinforcement Cheick Diallo.
In this year’s batch, Diallo seemed to be the most touted import having been drafted by the LA Clippers in the second round of the 2016 NBA draft. He played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons before finding his way to Asia where he suited up for Kyoto Hannaryz in the Japan B. League and played alongside former PBA star Matthew Wright.
Other teams also went for players brimming with international experience with Terrafirma and NorthPort tapping Great Britain national team members in Ryan Richards and Kavel Bigby-Williams, respectively. Bigby-Williams is set to be one of the tallest imports in this conference’s batch so far, standing at 6-foot-11 and cousin of former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. Richards, on the other hand, is a 33-year-old, 6-foot-11 big man who was also drafted in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft but spent most of his time playing overseas.
Also going for size was Rain or Shine after tapping the services of 6-foot-11 Kenneth Kadji while Phoenix has wide bodied, 6-foot-9 center Donovan Smith as its import. Meralco’s import Akil Mitchell, meanwhile, already introduced himself to the PBA fans, after dropping 33 points and 22 rebounds in the Bolts’ 81-80 victory over KBL champion Busan KCC Egis. San Miguel has yet to announce its import as reigning Commissioner’s Cup Best Import and Gilas Pilipinas naturalization candidate Bennie Boatwright still recovering from an injury and would not be available until December.
NLEX, likewise, is still in search of its reinforcement after initial plans of bringing in former NBA player Ed Davis bogged down..
