PBA Governors’ Cup 2024 imports preview

The Philippine Basketball Association Season 49 will open their season with an import-laiden conference. 

Imports are essential for the league as they bring dynamics to each team that they play for and local players will have a glimpse on how to play with international players. In the Governors’ Cup, the usual third conference of the league that allows each team to get one reinforcement, will be the first conference to be held by the PBA this year.

This year, the conference will have a 6’6” height limit for imports - a little difference from the 6’5” limit from last year.

They will also bring excitement to the fans as some of the imports are former NBA players whom they can only watch from television before but now they can have a chance to watch them live in the basketball venues.

Everything set aside, here’s a preview of the imports who will play for the Philippine Basketball Association 49th Season Governors’ Cup.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel: Justin Brownlee 

Justin Brownlee, the six-time PBA champion and three-time best import will once again don the Ginebra jersey for another tour of duty.

Brownlee will not only bring his PBA championship pedigree in the upcoming season but also his international experience too.

The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player just recently won another championship when he helped the Perlita Jaya capture the Indonesian Basketball League title.

He also showed his brilliance in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament where he led Gilas upset the host team and world’s No. 6 ranked Latvia.

With all the accolades Brownlee have and the new pieces that Ginebra get in the pre-season, they now have the big chance to get back the Governors’ Cup title - one that they lost last season against TNT Tropang Giga who was then reinforced by NBA veteran Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Blackwater Bossing: Ricky Ledo

Ricky Ledo, a former NBA second round pick in 2013 will reinforce the Blackwater Bossing.

Ledo was drafted 43rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks but he didn’t play with the team. His draft rights were later traded to Philadelphia, and finally to Dallas.

He played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2013 and for the New York Knicks in 2015.

Incidentally, a number of former PBA imports were part of that 2013 draft class including Shabazz Muhammad (San Miguel and Strong Group Athletics), Glen Rice Jr (TNT), Tony Mitchell (Magnolia, NLEX), and Jamaal Franklin (Converge).

The 31-year-old Ledo can play multiple positions. He has great dribbling skills and shooting prowess and he has proven it in one of his games in China where he almost tallied a triple-double when he scored 54 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished off 9 assists.

Now that Blackwater has Ledo on their side partnering with No. 2 pick overall Sedrick Barefield, and two-time MVP James Yap passing the baton to the youngsters, Bossing can become a force to reckon with.

Converge FiberXers: Scotty Hopson

The league might have one more Scotty to watch out for in Scotty Hopson, a 34-year-old NBA undrafted player and a journeyman who played internationally will bring his experience to the Converge FiberXers.

Hopson had short stints for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma Thunder. He also played in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Spain, Croatia, Lebanon, Australia and China.

He last played for Boston Celtics G.League affiliate, Maine Celtics.

Hopson is not just an athletic player but also an all-around one with a deadly perimeter jumper and nice stroke beyond the arc. He is also a hard worker when it comes to defense.

The 34-year-old reinforcement might be the eldest among the new imports coming to the PBA but his experience will make a big impact to the young line-up of the FiberXers led by 2024 first pick overall Justine Baltazar and steady inside presence of 2023 Rookie of the Year, Justin Arana.

Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots: Glenn Robinson III

Glenn Robinson III, the 2017 NBA Slam Dunk champion will bring his solid basketball resume to Magnolia Hotshots.

Among all the PBA imports right now, Robinson is the most experienced when it comes to playing in the NBA. He played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors where he became a teammate of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Robinson played a total of 304 games in his NBA career. He was even inserted to the starting lineup 105 times.

This might be the first time that Robinson will play as an import but his NBA pedigree might be all the Hotshots need to win another chip for the team.

The last time that Magnolia won a championship was in the 2018 Governors’ Cup when Romeo Travis reinforced them to the promised land.

With Robinson coming to the picture with a mix of steady veterans and quality youngsters added to the team, the Hotshots might have a great chance of getting their 15th championship ring.

Meralco Bolts: Allen Durham

Allen Durham, the three-time best import is back with the Meralco Bolts after four years.

Durham led the Bolts to three finals appearances before only to succumb to eventual champions Barangay Ginebra in those three outings.

The 36-year-old import will try to lead Meralco to the promised land and end his unfinished business with a championship ring in mind.

This time, Durham already had a championship tucked under his belt when he won a championship with the Ryuku Golden Kings in Japan B. League where he became the finals MVP.

The Bolts also won their first PBA title in last season’s Philippine. Cup.

With Meralco and Durham having championship pedigree already, they are now expected to have another ring - this time as one unit.

NLEX Road Warriors: Myke Henry

For a team that has yet to win a PBA title in its history, can Myke Henry be NLEX’s Strongest Man?

Henry, a former Memphis Grizzlies player, will be donning the NLEX Road Warriors jersey as the team’s reinforcement.

Henry last played with Sartria Muda in the Indonesian Basketball League where he averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebound and 3.3 assists per game. 

He also played in Team USA’s 3x3 in the 2016 World Championship.

A player with highflying skills and quick release shooting, Henry is expected to make his defenders work hard in guarding him.

The arrival of Henry partnered with the services of a scoring machine in Robert Bolick and a hustle player with veteran smarts in Sean Anthony, the Road Warriors became a better team and can become a playoff contender once again.

Northport Batang Pier: Taylor Johns

Taylor Johns, a seasoned journeyman who will bring his experience to the Northport Batang Pier.

Johns has experienced playing in Slovenia, Greece, Israel, Finland and Slovakia before.

His last stint was in IIndonesia Basketball League (IBL) with the Kesatria Bengawan Solo, whom he helped reach the playoffs but was let go before the postseason. The club eventually lost to Satria Muda Pertamina.

Johns averaged 15.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.1 steals and 1 block in 26.5 minutes of play per game in the IBL.

The 30-year-old import is known to be a good pick and roll player. That can play a vital role in the Batang Pier campaign as their newly acquired guard Jio Jalalon can blossom in the same kind of set up just like what he did when he’s still with Magnolia. 

Now that Johns has entered the building, only time will tell if Coach Bonnie Tan has found the right combination of players that he needs to make Northport enter the playoffs.

Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters: Jayveous McKinnis

A young Jayveous McKinnis will try to ignite the Phoenix Fuel Masters into playoff contention once again..

In his last stint with Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus League Division 1, the 24-year-old forward averaged 15.6 points, 14.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.

McKinnis might be young but having Coach Jamike Jarin on his side to guide him and veteran teammates like Jason Perkins, RJ Jazul and RR Garcia together with sets of youngsters led by Ken Tuffin, he is expected to make his PBA debut to be a good one.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters: Aaron Fuller

Aaron Fuller, a returning import that will now play for his new team, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters but with his former Coach in NLEX, Yeng Guiao.

Fuller also played with Blackwater and TNT before but his stint with Coach Yeng seemed to bring out the best in him as he averaged 31.1 points and 16.6 rebounds per game.

His defense, hardwork and inside presence will definitely help ROS campaign to have another playoff run this season.

Fuller also helped the Elasto Painters win the Kadayawan Invitation Basketball in Davao where they swept the four-day tournament.

San Miguel Beermen: Jordan Adams

Jordan Adams, the former Memphis Grizzlies will be the import of the powerhouse San Miguel Beermen.

The Beermen brought in Adams to take over the import spot that previously belonged to Lithuanian Tauras Jogela in an early import change.

After his Memphis campaign, Adams played in the NBA G. League before he journeyed overseas where he saw action in Syria. Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay.

Adams came from his fresh stint with the Indonesia Basketball League (IBL) where he suited up for the Dewa United Banten. 

He was part of the 2024 IBL All Stars and even won the 3-point shootout competition.

Knowing that Adams can shoot nicely from beyond the arc, it will be an advantage for SMB as they still have a threat inside the paint in JuneMar Fajardo. The seventh-time MVP can just easily kick-out a pass to Adams or with another gunner Marcio Lassiter especially since the PBA has introduced the four-point line.

Terrafirma Dyip: Brandon Edwards

Brandon Edwards, a product of NCAA Division 1 program UT-Arlington will bring his decade of vast experience of playing professionally to the PBA.

Edwards spent much of his career in Europe. He started in Spain, then took his wares to Green, then Finland, Israel and France.

The 32-year-old reinforcement has also played in Asia when he suited up for the Macau Black Bears in the 2019-20 ASEAN Basketball League but the stint was cut short due to the pandemic.

He played for 12 games in the ABL and posted averages of 18.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 36.0 minutes of action.

Edwards recently played in Kosovo, where he helped Klubi i Basketbollit Trepça win the 2023-24 Superliga crown.

As he brings his talent to the Philippines, he is now expected to help the Dyip go to the next level and make them a playoff contender specially with the arrival of Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle through a blockbuster trade with fan–favorite Ginebra.

TNT Tropang Giga: Darius Days

Darius Days, a 24-year-old former NBA player will reinforce the TNT Tropang Giga to defend their Governors’ Cup title.

With former Rondae Hollis-Jefferson not being available for the TNT to defend their crown, the Tropang Texters tapped the services of the former Houston Rockets player.

He is the third former Rockets that will play for TNT after Terrence Jones and KJ McDaniels.

Days might not be explosive in his NBA stint but he tallied monster numbers in NBA D.League where he averaged 29.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.7 assist, and 1.3 steals per game when he played with the RGV (Rio Grande Valley) Vipers. He also averaged 3.7 3-pointers per outing.

TNT didn’t get much in the recent PBA Rookie Draft but having the services of Darius Days gave the Tropang Giga the boost that they needed as defending champions.

Now that we know who the imports are in the upcoming Governors’ Cup, whose reinforcement do you think will make the largest impact in their respective team?

The answer will be found out as Asia’s first and oldest pay-for-play basketball league resumes action on August 18th.

LIFE ON THE SIDELINES

Janine told Scoreline / Dribble Report / G’Ballers, being a PBA official impacted her life.

In her decade of refereeing experience, - 8 years of which as a pro, she realized that was a long road already and she needed to expand the horizon. That's why she is now eyeing to be an international referee while still doing her job in the PBA and exploring other stuff that can make her better.

“Being an official is not like the normal 8-hour work. It’s being at your best, giving the highest quality of work for 2-3 hours but you have to be in top shape before you go into the battle,” described by Janine about the work ethics that you need to have being a referee.

“Being a referee is a lifestyle, it becomes your way of life already. So you have to align everything - mentally, physically, psychologically, and even spiritually. You should always stay healthy too,” she added.

Asked on what advice she could give for those who wanted to follow her footsteps, she utter these words:

“When you are a PBA referee, you have to stay focused, be in the present, never let distractions enter your mind, and always give your best shot. You also need to take care of your body.”

“You should always remember the word respect. Respect everyone around you and always give respect to yourself too.” she ended.

“Always remember that each one has a calling. You just have to find yours.”