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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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05
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07
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
05
07
2024
With the smoke of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finale still in the air, the PBA Governors’ Cup unfurls Tuesday with Meralco and GlobalPort slugging it out in the mainer of a twinbill at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The two teams introduce NBA veterans as their regular imports and also bring along Asian reinforcements in their 7 p.m. encounter.
It’s the pair of 6-foot-5 Andre Emmett and Iranian Benny Koochoie for Meralco versus the tandem of 7-0 Patrick O’Bryant and Palestine Omar Krayem for GlobalPort.
It will be interesting to see how the Bolts will match up with O’Bryant, a behemoth with tours of duty with the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors in the NBA.
In the Commissioner’s Cup, the Bolts reached the semifinals with a short but versatile import in Josh Davis. An injury to Davis stymied Meralco’s bid in the end, though.
The Batang Pier, meanwhile, failed to make it past the elimination round as they didn’t get the needed boost from the three imports that they tried their luck on – CJ Leslie, Calvin Warner and Derrick Caracter.
They piled up only four wins against seven losses – surely a factor on the return of Pido Jarencio as head coach of the Mikee Romero-owned ballclub.
“We need to start strong and get our rhythm to get our game going,” said Jarencio on their Governors’ Cup debut versus Meralco.
“We must focus also on defense especially as their imports are both scorers,” Jarencio also said.
Emmett was the 35th pick overall in the 2004 NBA Draft who went on to play a season each for the Memphies Grizzlies and the New Jersey Nets.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard/small forward is also a veteran of international play with stints in Belgium, France, Venezuela, China, Puerto Rico, Lebanon and Mexico.
Koochoie also has good credentials to speak of, having played college ball in the US and then playing pro basketball in the Iranian Super League and in the Chinese Basketball Association.
But he’ll be up for an early baptism of fire as he takes on Rookie of the Year leading contender Stanley Pringle and Krayem, a 6-1 Palestine playmaker who has suited up in leagues like Sweden, Finland and Hungary. (SB)
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