Despite the daunting odds, 16 former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) imports fought tooth and nail for roster spots in the offseason.
They were paid to suit up in the preseason exhibitions but had no guarantees of sticking up to the start of the regular campaign. In the end, only seven survived the grueling tryouts even as four of them were relegated to the injured list.
The seven survivors are the Chicago Bulls’ Rick Brunson (Ginebra, 1998), the Houston Rockets’ Juaquin Hawkins (Shell, 2001) and Pete Mikael (Talk ‘N’ Text, 2002), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Tremaine Fowlkes (Pop Cola, 1999), the Miami Heat’s Sean Lampley (Red Bull, 2002), the Philadelphia 76ers’ Art Long (San Miguel Beer, 2002), and the Seattle SuperSonics’ Ansu Sesay (Sta. Lucia Realty, 2000, 2001).
Of the seven, only three were placed on active status as of last Oct. 29. They were Hawkins, Long, and Sesay. The others were on the injured list. Brunson, who played only a game for Ginebra, is out with tendonitis in the right knee. Mikael is down with an unspecified foot problem. Fowlkes is nursing a sprained right knee while Lampley is hobbled by a sprain in the left foot.
A player on the injured list may be activated only after five games.
Hawkins, 29, was a surprise survivor. He came to Manila on the Shaquille O’Neal tour in 1997 and wasn’t particularly impressive playing against a PBA All-Star squad at the Big Dome. Shell took a chance on the Long Beach State veteran in the Commissioner’s Cup last year but he lasted only four games, averaging 17.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. Hawkins was replaced by Tremaine Wingfield. Alas, Shell wound up dead last in the conference with Hawkins and Wingfield in harness.
Long was the volatile center who played eight games for San Miguel in the Second Conference this season. He replaced Jermaine Tate and in turn, was replaced by Terquin Mott. Depending on how Todd MacCullough performs, Long could find himself starting at center for the Sixers.
Sesay had his brief shining moments as a Sonic in the playoffs last season. Coach Nate McMillan liked what he saw and rehired the two-time Sta. Lucia import this year.
Nine ex-imports nearly made the cut but failed to hang on.
First to fall by the wayside was Mario Bennett (San Miguel, 2002) who was waived by the Atlanta Hawks last Oct. 11. Then, James Head (Alaska, 2002) followed—he was released by the Clippers a day later. On Oct. 13, it was Jerod Ward’s turn to bow out. Ward (Talk ‘N’ Text, 2001) was cut by the Toronto Raptors. Incidentally, former Purefoods import Derrick Brown played for the Raptors in pick-up leagues last summer but wasn’t invited to the veterans camp.
Last Oct. 21, two more former imports were waylaid. Boston cut Frantz Pierre-Louis (FedEx, 2002) and Orlando waived Jermaine Walker (FedEx, 2002). Pierre-Louis, who played with Danny Seigle at Wagner College, was in the Celtics’ 16-man roster in the preseason. Walker, who has never played in the NBA, almost made it to the Magic lineup.
Richie Frahm (Talk ‘N’ Text, 2002) and Jason Sasser (Pop Cola, 2001) were next to be dropped. Frahm was cut by the Portland Trail Blazers and Sasser, by the Sacramento Kings last Oct. 23. The next day, Danny Johnson (Talk ‘N’ Text, 2002) was released by the New York Knicks.
Finally, Gabe Muoneke (Purefoods, 2002) was waived by the Detroit Pistons last Oct. 25.
It’s no accident that of the 16 ex-imports who played in the preseason exhibitions, 10 saw action in the PBA this year. Mikael, Lampley, Long, Muoneke, Johnson, Frahm, Pierre-Louis, Walker, Head, and Bennett polished their act here and got ready for the NBA tryouts. Three of them eventually hit the jackpot in the NBA stakes.
Postscript. You’ve got until Nov. 5 to send in your entries to the Star’s NBA Sweepstakes contest. We’ll pick 40 lucky winners in all, five for each day that our 8-part season preview series ran. Prizes are 15 T-shirts, 15 caps, and 10 replica jerseys (two each of Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, and Michael Jordan). Send in your entries to The Star, NBA Sweepstakes, 14th and Railroad Streets, Port Area, Metro Manila.
Mark the number of the question you’re answering on your entry. Winners will be announced on Nov. 7. To review, here are the questions. No. 1 Who wears No. 8 for the Lakers? No. 2 Who led the New Jersey Nets in scoring last season? No. 3 Who is Sacramento’s Yugoslavian starting center? No. 4 Who is Orlando’s veteran recruit known as the Reign Man? No. 5 What is David Robinson’s nickname? No. 6 Who is the Washington Wizards recruit off whom Michael Jordan scored the winning basket in Game 6 of the Chicago-Utah Finals in 1998? No. 7 How many games did Philadelphia win in the last regular season? No. 8 How many NBA titles has Phil Jackson won overall? Don’t forget to write your name, address, telephone number and of course your answer in each entry.