By REYNALD MAGALLON
A bevy of reinforcements is ready and eager to take a piece of the limelight especially now that the future of Barangay Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee is still up in the air for the coming PBA 2023 Commissioner’s Cup.
Though Brownlee’s name is still on the roster of Ginebra, the Gin Kings are now frantically looking for his replacement with barely two weeks left before the conference opens shop.
Should the reigning Best Import be suspended after he failed a doping test at the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is likely to become one of the main attractions of the import-flavored tournament.
He already proved to be a perfect fit for the Tropang Giga after steering them to a championship last season and his confidence should only be sky high after a solid stint in the FIBA World Cup and Asian Games as the naturalized player of Jordan.
Also worth watching is NLEX’s import Thomas Robinson who will finally make his PBA debut after his initial attempt to play in the league as part of San Miguel last season was hindered by a back injury.
Robinson is the No. 5 pick of the 2012 NBA rookie draft and has played for the big league for five seasons with stints with the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.
He and RHJ, however, were not the only ones brimming with talent and NBA experience.
Jonathan Williams of Phoenix, Dajuan Summer of Rain or Shine and Tyler Bey of Magnolia have all played in the NBA as well
Williams played for the Lakers and the Washington Wizards before suiting up for teams outside the U while Summers saw action for the Detroit Pistons and LA Clippers before strutting his wares in top Asian leagues.
Bey, the youngest of this year’s batch at 25-years-old, played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2021 before playing overseas.
Other teams, meanwhile, opted to sign players already tried and tested in international play.
San Miguel is parading Tyler Stone who is coming off a Best Import stint in Romania while Blackwater will be reinforced by Chris Ortiz who, just like RHJ, also played in the World Cup as part of Puerto Rico.
Converge also tapped the services of Tall Blacks member Tom Vodanovich while NorthPort went for Australia NBL veteran Venky Jois.
Terrafirma has Belgian journeyman Thomas de Thaey who had stints in Europe while Meralco chose Nigerian-American Suleiman Braimoh to replace original choice Feron Hunt
