GAB shuts door on Express’ NBA vet

FedEx wanted to deliver a message and it did at its own expense.

The Express shipped out its highly-touted import in Darrin Hancock after the NBA veteran was denied a license by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) which found traces of a banned substance in his urine samples last Monday.

"We wanted to set an example," said Air21 president and FedEx team manager Lito Alvarez.

The GAB requires a mandatory drug test for all players seeking licenses. Unfortunately, traces of marijuana were detected on Hancock’s urine sample although team officials were not surprised with the result since it is common knowledge that marijuana is legal in some parts of the US.

The Express, coming off a third place finish in the mid-season tournament, actually had a 45-day grace period to appeal the case but decided not to avail itself of the rule and instead brought in a replacement in Terence Shannon.

Even then, the league may bar the new reinforcement from playing since he is officially listed as 6-foot-8 in the United States Basketball League (USBL), way beyond the 6-foot-5 maximum height limit allowed in this conference.

Shannon, who last saw action with the Adirondack Wildcats in the USBL, was supposed to plane in last night, leaving league officials with no option but to conduct an official measurement on him in Baguio City, site of the tournament opener featuring the Express opposite the Red Bull Barako.

"Medyo iffy nga ang sitwasyon namin ngayon," said FedEx coach Derick Pumaren yesterday. "But we’re still trying to keep our faith that he (Shannon) would pass the measurement."

In Hancock, the Express see the kind of import they need in their serious bid to equal — if not surpass — the team’s showing in the last Invitational Championship although Alvarez said the Hancock, who was drafted 38th overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, was out of shape and could not sustain his energy level for 48 minutes.

"Darren (Hancock) no doubt is an exceptional player. The coaching staff is one in saying that he is the type of player who can dominate in the PBA," said Alvarez.

"But he is not in tip-top shape. Kulang sa hangin. We don’t want to have a problem in the middle of the conference. That’s why we acted swiftly," added Alvarez.

Meanwhile, the lone opening game this Saturday in Baguio between FedEx and Red Bull will highlight the festivities ushering in the first conference to open outside Metro Manila in the league’s 29-year history.

A festive atmosphere, cool, refreshing air and a fresh replenishment of new faces give the Philippine Basketball Association a reinvigorating feel when the league opens its Reinforced Conference on Saturday in Baguio City.

Red Bull Barako and FedEx Express, major contenders in the season’s first two tournaments, meet at the Eastern College gym to highlight the first conference in the league’s 29-year history to open outside Metro Manila.

Coinciding with festivities marking the most special day in Baguio City’s calendar, PBA commissioner Noli Eala said the event also serves as a celebration of the nation’s passion for basketball that has fuelled the league’s success over the years.

To commemorate that, the league has prepared a brief but festive ceremony at the country’s summer hideaway while NBN-IBC will hook up with stations in Cebu City and Metro Manila in a presentation an hour before game time.

"This day we’ll celebrate the nation’s undying passion for basketball," Eala said. "That we’ve brought the opening of our third conference to Baguio City is our appreciation of the fact that the league continues to be a national passion."

The arrival of a new batch of imports, seven of them fresh faces, is expected to spice up the season-ending tournament and throw the championship race wide open.

The Reinforced Conference in itself, returning to the league calendar after an absence of 14 years, had long been a venue for momentous events. The last time it was held in 1989, San Miguel Beer, mentored by Norman Black, won to compete only the third grand slam in PBA history.

The tournament will be a fresh start in more ways than one for Red Bull, which welcomes back top big man Davonn Harp into its fold and parades a full complement of players for the first time since the early part of the All-Filipino.

Ramel Lloyd, a Syracuse product and a veteran of the Venezuelan league, will beef up the Barako while reinstated guard Jimwell Torion and free agent signee Topex Robinson add depth to the team’s backcourt.

FedEx has surpassed expectations in the year’s first two tournaments and hopes to go even further with the help of Darrin Hancock, a former Charlotte Hornet.

The import-favored conference returns to the metropolis on Sunday with a twinbill at the Cuneta Astrodome pitting the Filipino champion Talk N Text Phonepals against the Shell Turbochargers and the San Miguel Beermen vs Barangay Ginebra.

Shell has brought back high-scoring Sedric Webber to pump life into its campaign while Talk N’ Text has tapped Damian Cantrell. The day’s other game will pit Kirk Clark (San Miguel) against ex-Duke mainstay Rick Price.

"We have an exciting batch of imports and I’m sure fans will enjoy watching them," said Eala. The FedEx Express has replaced its import NBA veteran Darrin Hancock with a United States Basketball League (USBL) standout in Terrance Shannon, in time for its Reinforced Conference opening game with Red Bull Barako on Saturday at the Eastern College Gym in Baguio City.

The 31-year-old Hancock, the only certified NBA veteran among the 10 imports in the coming third conference, had, during the Express‚ practice sessions, shown glimpses of his ability to take the PBA by storm, but they were just that-glimpses.

According to the FedEx coaching staff, the former Charlotte Hornet simply could not sustain his energy level for an entire 48 minutes especially with a running team that is the Express.

"Darrin Hancock, no doubt is an exceptional player. The coaching staff is one in saying that he is the type of player, who can dominate in the PBA," said Air21 president and Express team manager Lito Alvarez.

"But he is not in tip-top shape. Kulang sa hangin. We don’t want to have a problem in the middle of the conference, that‚s why we acted swiftly," added Alvarez, who said their new import was scheduled to plane in from the US last night.

Shannon is the top player of the Adirondack Wildcats in the USBL, where he is its most dominant player. He is also the main man of the Roanoke Dazzle in the National Basketball Development League (NBDL).

"We will see whether he is as good as advertised, but initial reports from our agent in the US say that he is an exciting player who works best down low," Alvarez said.