Porter tapped to carry load for limping Kings

Barangay Ginebra hopes a change in import would change its floundering fortune in the San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Conference as the Gin Kings parade Chris Porter when they face the Talk n Text Phone Pals tomorrow at the Astrodome.

Three straight setbacks sent the crowd favorites reeling from second place to fifth heading into the final week of the double round classification phase with the entry of Porter, a former Golden State Warrior, expected to put Ginebra back into the thick of things.

With an even 7-7 card, the Gin Kings need to win their last two games, the other against Alaska on Christmas Day, to get a crack at an outright semis slot although the Phone Pals (7-6), along with the Red Bull Barakos (8-7) and the Air 21 Express (8-7), are also expected to go flat out to contend for an automatic berth.

Purefoods, boasting of a 10-5 mark, is a cinch to claim the No. 1 spot in the semis round.

Also making his return to Ginebra is Eric Menk, whom management suspended for one game for disciplinary action after missing the team’s practice last week without prior notice.

The 6-foot-6 power forward averaged 13 points and 12.6 rebounds and his absence told heavily on the Gin Kings‘ 78-86 loss to the surging San Miguel Beermen last Friday.

But with Menk back in harness and a new import raring to showcase his wares, the Gin Kings hope to recover lost ground and regain their winning ways.

Porter, listed as 6-7 in the NBA, has been practicing with the Gin Kings and will be measured at the PBA office today. He will replace Sean Lampley, who has slowed down after steering Ginebra to the top in the early going till midway of the tournament.

The 27-year-old Porter became the first Chipola College basketball player to be drafted by the NBA when he was picked by the Warriors in the 2000 NBA draft.

Porter, who played his junior and senior years at Auburn University, was the No. 55 pick in the second round. He normed 8.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in his rookie season.