By Rey C. Lachica
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shine do not have to look far to find new but dependable Fil-Am players.
In the event one-time MVP Arwind Santos and star guard Marcio Lassiter decide to hang up their jerseys, the Beermen should give Roosevelt Adams a try.
Mighty Sport head coach Charles Tiu and his assistant – the veteran Jong Uichico – can both attest to Adam’s solid credentials.
Both coaches firmly believe the 6-foot-5 Adams can do the things both stars normally perform on the court – defend with the ferocity of a wounded tiger and drop 3-point bombs at any given time.
“He’s not as accurate shooter as Marcio but in terms of a two-way player, I can compare him to Marcio,” said Tiu of his prized-find player for the 30th Dubai International Basektball Championship here.
On his part, Uichico described Adams as the younger version of the 6-foot-4 Santos.
“Like Arwind, Adams is deadly from the perimeter and also as energetic as Arwind on the defensive end,” said Uichico.
Tiu and Uichico, who are both tasked to lead the Aklex Wongchuking-owned Mighty Sports to the championship of this annual tournament, have also some pleasant words for Jeremiah Gray.
Both coaches described the 6-foot-4 Gray – a veteran of Germany and Luxembourg leagues – as the younger version of Rain or Shine star guard Gabe Norwood.
“I think he’s much quicker than Gabe and can also shoot from afar. The PBA needs a wing player like Gray. He can help excite the PBA fans,” Uichico.
Gray recently broke Dominican University of California’s single-season scoring record in the NCAA Division II with 509 points – a feat that enabled him to secure a spot in the All-PacWest Third Team.
