Newly-crowned PBA Commissioner’s Cup champion San Miguel Beer will bank on NBA G-League and Italian league veteran Dez Wells to complete its Grand Slam bid in the PBA Governors’ Cup which kicks off next month.
Team manager Gee Abanilla confirmed Wells’ addition ahead of the squad’s attempt to rule the season-ending conference and achieve the sixth triple crown in the 44-year history of the pro league.
Wells played for Xavier and Maryland in the US NCAA Division I but was left undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft.
He played one NBA preseason game for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 before suiting up thrice for the Oklahoma City Blue of G-League from 2015 to 2017 and the 2018-19 season.
His first European stint was for Greek side Doxa Lefkadas in 2016 before joining Italian clubs Scandone Avelino and VL Pesaro during the 2017 and 2019 Lega Basket Serie A campaigns.
The 27-year-old Wells’ performance will determine whether SMB can be able to pull off the historic Grand Slam.
SMB fell short in its first attempt in 2017 when the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Barangay Ginebra.
That conference saw the Beermen parade two imports in Wendell McKines and Terrence Watson.
-JONAS TERRADO