Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The Philippine Basketball Association is set to break new ground with the launch of an Asian-flavored tournament Tuesday as the season-ending PBA Governors' Cup unfolds with four teams seeing action. For the first time, the 12 participating teams were allowed to have two imports each, provided that one of them comes from an Asian country and who stands no higher than 6'3”. The teams were also allowed to enlist a regular import with a height restriction of 6'5” for the top eight teams, and an import with no height limit for Blackwater, Kia, Barako Bull and GlobalPort. However, only six of the 12 teams opted to hire Asian reinforcements. Among the Asian imports, the one deemed to have the highest credentials is Jordan's Osama Daghles who will be playing with newly crowned Commissioner's Cup champion Talk N Text. The 6'3” Daghles has been the top scorer and playmaker of Jordan's national basketball team since 2003. The Texters' other import is Steffphon Pettigrew, a 6'5” American journeyman who has played for at least four teams in four different South American countries after his stint in the Western Kentucky University in the NCAA in the US. The NLEX Road Warriors also added a distinguished Asian cager to their roster as they secured the services of 6'5” Syrian legend Michel Madanly, a streak shooter who has made his mark in the Chinese Basketball Association where he teamed up with Denzel Bowles for the Jilin Northeast Tigers. Madanly will play alongside 6'6” Rob Jones, NLEX's regular import who has played in various teams in the Americas and Europe. The Meralco Bolts have signed in Iranian 6'3” guard Benny Koochoie after failing to get Mehdi Kamrani. Backing him up is 6'5” Andre Emmett, the current NBA D-League MVP and the 35th overall pick of the Seattle Supersonics in the 2004 NBA Draft. The Barangay Ginebra Kings will parade 6'3” Mongolian combo-guard Sanchir Tungalag. Sanchir's entry to the PBA is considered historic since he will be the first-ever Mongolian athlete to play as an import in a foreign league. Sanchir will join 6'5” Orlando Johnson, Ginebra's regular import who played for the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings in the NBA. The GlobalPort Batang Pier have selected 6'1” Palestinian Omar Krayem and 7-footer Patrick O'Bryant, who played for the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Toronto Raptors in the NBA. Kia Motors is counting on 6'3” Taiwanese scorer Jet Chang to join forces with regular import Hamady Barro N'Diaye, a seven-footer Senegalese who has played for the Washington Wizards, and Sacramento Kings in the NBA. The other six teams that decided to forego with an Asian reinforcement at the moment are the Barako Bull Energy, Blackwater Elite, San Miguel Beermen, Purefoods Star Hotshots, Alaska Aces, and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. These teams could decide to hire an Asian import any time during the conference. Barako Bull's incoming import is 7'2” Liam McMorrow from Canada. McMorrow played for the Iowa Energy in the US D-League. The Blackwater Elite is sticking with its Commissioner's Cup 6'11” import Marcus Douthit, who is a naturalized member of the Philippines' Gilas basketball squad. San Miguel is again tapping the services of 6'4” Arizona Reid, who played for Rain or Shine in the 2011 and 2014 seasons. He was also SMB's import last Commissioner's Cup. The Alaska Aces will be beefed up by Romeo Travis, a former teammate of NBA star LeBron James in college. The Purefoods Star Hotshots are counting on 6'4” Marqus Blakely who played for Purefoods in 2012 and 2013. The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters will be bolstered by Wendell McKines, a 6'5” forward who once played for the Alaska Aces. Games Tuesday: Blackwater Elite vs. Alaska Aces; Meralco Bolts vs GlobalPort Batang Pier.
