Beermen to enlist former LA Clipper

San Miguel Beer has tapped former Los Angeles Clipper Rico Hill to be its import in the 2005 PBA Reinforced Conference set to start Oct. 2.

Barring last-minute hitches, Hill, a former Illinois State star picked No. 31 overall by the Clippers in the 1999 NBA draft, is arriving in the country tomorrow.

Air21, meanwhile, is eyeing the services of either former New Jersey Net Awvee Storey, Sean Daniels or Rogers Washington.

Two veteran PBA imports are already in town in Damien Cantrell of Talk n Text and Artemus McClary of Alaska Milk.

Hill, the Clippers’ second pick after Lamar Odom in 1999, was highly recommended to San Miguel coach Jong Uichico.

Listed as a 6-foot-6 forward, Hill was the first Illinois State Redbird ever named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.

He played for three years with the Redbirds, finishing with career averages of 15 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists. He normed 18.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in his final year.

Hill played in the Spanish league after his junior season in the collegiate league.

Storey, Air21’s top prospect, was a shooting guard at Arizona State who had a brief stint with the New Jersey Nets in the NBA last season.

Storey played nine games with the Nets averaging 3.6 minutes, 0.6 rebound, 0.1 assist and 0.8 point. — Nelson Beltran