PBA: The imports of the 2014 Governors’ Cup - part two

Less than a week after the end of the Commissioner’s Cup, and we’re already two games into the 2014 Governors’ Cup. Each team will be fielding an import no taller than 6’6”, and this season, there are a few familiar faces, as well as a some fringe NBA talents that might ring a bell.

Meet the imports of Talk 'N Text, Meralco, San Mig Coffee, Barako Bull and San Miguel Beer here:

[RELATED: Get to know the imports of Air21, GlobalPort, Ginebra, Alaska and Rain or Shine]



Barako Bull Energy – Eric Wise
Twitter: @Ewise34

The Barako Bull Energy hope to build on their last campaign with their hiring of one of the youngest imports in the league, Eric Wise. The 24-year-old forward had a solid collegiate career in the US NCAA, playing three seasons for UC Irvine (from 2008-09 until the 2010-11 season), and a season for the USC Trojans (2012-13). Wise averaged 14.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game in his college career. While he did not take a lot of long-range shots, he showed an aptitude for getting to the free throw line, averaging 5.3 attempts per game in his college career.

After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, Wise was selected in the third round (35th overall) by the Iowa Energy in the NBDL draft. He would only play a couple of games for them before taking his talents to Luxembourg, where he played earlier this year. Wise averaged 28.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals for Soleuvre in the Luxembourg league, and showed more confidence in his outside shot with 1.3 three-pointers a game on 38.5 percent shooting, before leaving Europe for this stint in the Philippines.

Wise now will look to make his mark in the PBA as a second-generation import. His father, Francois Wise, was a big man who played from 1980 to 1987 as an import for U-Tex, Tanduay, Manila Beer, and Hills Bros, and averaged a cool 36.7 points and 15 rebounds a game, The senior Wise even boasted of a 74-point game. The younger Wise will have plenty of opportunities to prove his worth in for the Siot Tanquincen-helmed squad, which will lean on him heavily for offensive firepower.




Meralco Bolts – Terrence Williams
Twitter: @TheRealTWill

Followers of the NBA will be familiar with the Meralco Bolts’ import, Terrence Williams, who played four seasons from 2009 to 2013.

Williams was a former lottery pick, drafted 11th overall by the then-New Jersey Nets in the 2009 NBA Draft, after a solid collegiate career for the Louisville Cardinals under Coach Rick Pitino, where he averaged 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. Williams played a season and a half for New Jersey as a sixth man, with stints in the NBA D-League’s Springfield Armor. He was traded to the Houston Rockets in late 2010, and proceeded to play with them until the 2011-12 season, when he was waived. He then signed with the Sacramento Kings to finish that season.

When the 2012-13 NBA season rolled around, T-Will had signed a contract with the Detroit Pistons, but was cut before the season started. Williams then took his talents to China, playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, and averaged 17.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.9 steals in 29 games. In late 2013, he returned to the United States to play for the Boston Celtics for the remainder of the season.

All-in-all, Williams has NBA career averages of 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.

Williams was waived by Boston in July 2013, and tried playing professionally in Turkey for a few games before returning to the States to join the NBA D-League earlier this year. He leveraged a line of 20.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.4 steals for the NBDL’s Los Angeles D-Fenders into another overseas deal for Brujos de Guayama in Puerto Rico, where he played five games before catching the attention of Meralco.



San Mig Coffee Mixers – Marqus Blakely
Twitter: @MBlakely2211

San Mig Coffee brings in the reigning Governor’s Cup Best Import Marqus Blakely in their bid to defend their crown and go for a Grand Slam, after winning the Commissioner’s Cup just earlier this month. Marqus “Black Sakuragi” Blakely and his game are surely familiar to PBA fans, as he had already appeared as an import twice for San Mig Coffee – the first time in 2012 when the team was still known as the B-Meg Llamados, and just last year when he helped the team win the 2013 Governor’s Cup.

Blakely is a product of the University of Vermont, where he averaged 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.0 blocks in four seasons for the Catamounts. After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, Blakely joined the Summer League team of the Los Angeles Clippers. After being released by the Clippers, he was selected 12th in the NBA D-League Draft by the Bakersfield Jam, and averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds, before getting traded midseason to the Iowa Energy. He improved his play during the latter half of that season, putting up 16.8 points on 69.8 percent shooting and 6.8 rebounds in 26 games for the Energy.

Blakely’s stellar play caught the attention of the Houston Rockets, who signed him in 2011. Blakely joined their training camp roster after the NBA lockout, but was released before the start of the season. He then re-joined Iowa in the NBDL, where he played until he was traded to the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2012. Blakely continued his efficient ways, norming 16.1 points on 54.7 percent shooting, and adding 7.0 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks to his stat-line. Once the NBDL season ended, Blakely made his way to Philippine shores to play for the then-B-MEG Llamados, leading the team to the 2012 Governor’s Cup Finals, where they falling short in seven games against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Blakely finished that season averaging 22.4 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 2.6 blocks a game.

He tried his luck again with the Clippers for the 2012-13 NBA season, but did not make the cut after the preseason. Moving to Germany, Blakely played for Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Bundesliga, but only logged 24 minutes a game. He soon returned to the Philippines to play for the San Mig Coffee Mixers, winning the 2013 Governor’s Cup with improved stats from his last stint, finishing with 24.0 points, 15.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.1 steals, and 2.2 blocks a game.

Blakely now makes it three in a row with the San Mig Coffee franchise after a long rest, ready for the pressure and competition that only the rigors of a PBA conference brings. That pressure has been cranked up several notches with San Mig Coffee gunning for a Grand Slam, while the rest of the league brought in imports with significant NBA resumes. However, fans can hope that Blakely’s experience and chemistry with this Mixers team will trump them all and lead the team to another title.
 
 
 
 
 

San Miguel Beermen – Reggie Williams
Twitter: @reggiew55

San Miguel Beer opted not to bring back Elijah Millsap from last season, instead bringing in a familiar name for NBA fans, Reggie Williams. The swingman had a stellar career at Virginia Military Institute, leading the US NCAA division 1 in scoring twice, with 28.1 and 27.8 points per game in his junior and senior seasons. Williams finished his collegiate career with 22.8 points on 50 percent shooting with 1.8 three-pointers a game, and added 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 steals. He initially decided to skip his senior season, but opted to return, finishing as his school’s all-time leader in points.

However, Williams was undrafted in the 2008 NBA Draft, so he opted to play overseas, with his first pro stint coming for JDA Dijon in France, where he normed 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 29 games. He returned to the United States soon after to play for the Sioux Fall Skyforce of the NBA D-League, averaging 26.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals with 1.8 three-pointers per game in the 2009-10 NBDL season.

His stellar play in the NBDL caused him to be called up by the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, where he finished the rest of the season. Williams averaged 15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, with 1.4 three-pointers made a game in 24 games for the Warriors. He would appear in 80 games in the 2010-11 season for the Warriors and was a restricted free agent with them, but as the 2011 NBA lockout hit, Williams went overseas to play with CajaLaboralof Spain in the Euroleague.

Williams appeared in only 10 games in limited minutes in Europe before returning to the States to sign a two-year deal with the Charlotte Bobcats, playing with them for the remainder of the 2011-12 NBA season and averaging 8.3 points and 1.0 three-pointers a game in 33 games. He rejoined the Bobcats during the 2012-13 campaign and played 40 games with them.

Williams was signed to a multi-year deal by the Houston Rockets during the 2013 offseason, but was waived before the season started. Instead, he was acquired by the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League, and even played a few games for the Tulsa affiliate Oklahoma City Thunder. In his Tulsa stint, Williams averaged 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.4 three-pointers made per game. After not being offered another 10-day contract by the Thunder, Williams made his way to the PBA to play for the Beermen.

With NBA career averages of 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 three-pointers per game, and per-36 averages of 15.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 three-pointers, Williams brings his deadly sharp-shooting skills to a team already loaded in the frontcourt  with current MVP Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo. The Beermen hope Reggie Williams will be the one to get them started back to their winning ways.




Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters – Othyus Jeffers
Twitter: @OthyusTheGreat

Talk ’N Text brings in Othyus Jeffers, an NBA D-League Most Valuable Player. Othyus Jeffers played his first collegiate season for Los Angeles Southwest College, before transferring to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he averaged 13.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

However, misfortune struck when Jeffers was shot in the leg while defending his sister from an attack by her then-boyfriend. After his recovery, Jeffers transferred to Robert Morris University, a school in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) conference, where he averaged 24.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.

After going undrafted by the NBA in 2008, Jeffers was selected 47th overall in the NBA D-League draft by the Iowa Energy, where he made the D-League All-Star game and won Rookie of the Year honors for the 2008-09 season, thanks to averages of 21.0 points on 53.5 percent shooting, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.

Following that first successful NBDL season, Jeffers continued his professional career in the NBA Summer League, but was unable to earn a training camp invite. He instead went overseas, signing with NGC Cantù of the Italian league, but he last just 10 games before returning to the NBDL to play for Iowa again. Jeffers would get called up by the Utah Jazz that season, playing 10 games and averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds.

After remaining on the Jazz Summer League roster in 2010, he was waived before the start of the 2010-11 season, and returned to Iowa. Jeffers once again shined, averaging 21.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, earning a selection to the D-League All-Star game, and getting called up by the San Antonio Spurs for a game. He eventually signed with the Washington Wizards, where he played 16 games, with averages of 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds, for the remainder of the 2010-11 season.

During the offseason of the 2011 lockout, however, Jeffers suffered an ACL tear, forcing him to miss the entire 2011-12 season. He returned in the 2012-13 season to try out for the Phoenix Suns’ training camp, but did not make the cut. Jeffers instead returned to Iowa, normed 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in his comeback season, and was named to the D-League All-Defensive Third Team.

For the 2013-14 season, Jeffers joined the Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League team, and eventually joined training camp with them. However, he was waived before the NBA season started, and once again re-joined the Iowa Energy. Jeffers would get called up by the Spurs and Timberwolves for a couple of 10-day contracts, before signing for the rest of the season with the Timberwolves. He was simultaneously named co-Most Valuable Player of the NBDL with Ron Howard just last April. Jeffers averaged 20.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.2 steals, and led the Iowa Energy in scoring 20 times, and has dueled with San Miguel Beermen import Reggie Williams in the past NBDL season.

Talk ’N Text gets a proven offensive commodity in Jeffers, who has averaged double figures in points (never dipping below 14.3 points per game) in the competitive NBA D-League. Jeffers looks to have put his past injury behind him, and will look to lead the Tropang Texters over the hump and back to glory, after TnT’s undefeated campaign in the last Commissioner’s Cup ended with a loss to San Mig Super Coffee. - AMD, GMA News