THE INAUGURAL BALLER AWARDS: THE BEST PBA IMPORT OF 2013
In lieu of a PBA year-ender, I felt it would be better to go position-by-position and look at the best PBAers of 2013. These are the guys who did really well in the pro circuit. Perhaps they led their teams to conference titles. Perhaps they led the league in a certain statistical category. Perhaps they were part of Gilas Pilipinas and helped the team make history. Perhaps they did all of those things.
In this post, we will give a Baller Award to the Best PBA Import of 2013.
The Import Nominees:
Rob Dozier – Alaska
The 6-9 French-American was more than solid for the Alaska Aces. He was EXACTLY what they needed. He was the plug that completed a team with a burly 6-7 PF masquerading at center (read: Sonny Thoss), a bunch of lights out shooters, and a wild child bound to win ROY. Dozier didn’t have the prettiest footwork or the maddest hops, but, man, he delivered the goods when it mattered most. His final numbers in the 2013 Commish Cup: 20.1ppg, 17.6rpg, 2.9bpg, and 2.5apg, while shooting 53.1% from the field. He recorded a 52.48 player efficiency (EFF) rating. Alaska’s record with Dozier was 18 wins and 4 losses.
Vernon Macklin – Ginebra
Macklin replaced Herbert Hill, who led the Kings to an atrocious start to the tournament – 0 wins and 3 losses. Macklin proved to be a great low post operator who could sky for the alley-oop jam. With Macklin in tow, Ginebra won 12 of 21 games, including huge wins over second-seeded Rain or Shine and the Tropang Texters in the conference knockout rounds. Whereas Dozier was a guy who scored off of offensive rebounds or drop passes, Macklin was a classic, almost circa 90s, low block slotman. He averaged 22.1ppg, 14.6rpg, and 2.9apg, while also shooting 54.8% from the floor. His EFF was 49.04.
Renaldo Balkman – Petron Blaze
Because, you know, he’s best friends with Arwind Santos.
Marqus Blakely – San Mig Coffee
The 2013 Govs’ Cup might have been short and sweet, but returning import Marqus Blakely sure made his presence felt, leading the Mixers to the second seed and back into the conference Finals. They squared off against the heavily-favored Petron Blaze Boosters, who, prior to the Finals series, had won 12 of 14 games. Blakely, however, was a man on a mission. Despite falling behind, 1-2, early in the series, the Mixers, behind Blakely’s unending motor, were able to rally and win in seven games. He averaged 24.0ppg, 15.2rpg, 4.6apg, 2.2bpg, and 2.1spg, while shooting 49.9% from the field. His EFF was 53.49.
Elijah Millsap – Petron Blaze
Prior to the Govs’ Cup, Elijah was mostly known as the brother of NBAer Paul Millsap, but he made an indelible mark in the third conference after leading the Boosters to an 8-1 record in the eliminations and eventually into the conference Finals. Unlike most of the other PBA imports, Millsap was mainly a guard, and this made an already very deep Petron squad even more dangerous. Millsap connected on more than two treys per game, registering averages of 28.6ppg, 11.4rpg, 4.9apg, and 2.1bpg. His EFF was 52.24.
And the BALLER goes to…
RENALDO BALKMAN
Kidding. Don’t shoot me. Or choke me. Haha, yeah.
ROB DOZIER
Blakely had the “revenge” angle going, but Dozier helped Alaska become maybe the breakthrough team of the entire league. Dozier was also not the prototypical PBA import who dominated a game with slick moves and strong jams. He was really a yeoman who just really filled the hole Alaska had in its roster. After the second conference, some people even toyed with the idea of maybe naturalizing Dozier for future FIBA tournaments. I, for one, would not mind.
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