Will McCants show up?

Powerade coach Bo Perasol said yesterday the Tigers will tap NBA veteran Rashad McCants for the PBA Governors Cup starting May 20. McCants, 27, is due to fly in tomorrow. “He’s talented but super volatile,” said Perasol who’s praying novenas to seek Divine Intervention for McCants to board the plane to Manila. “I will take my chances.”

McCants is listed 6-4 so he should easily make the 6-5 limit for imports in the third conference. Players are usually listed an inch or two above their real height for marketing purposes since scouts often pay a premium for ceiling. But in the PBA, it’s the reverse when there’s a conference that imposes a height limit for imports.

At presstime, it still wasn’t certain if McCants got on the flight to Manila. “If he makes it on his flight, he’ll be here by Friday (tomorrow),” said Perasol.

Powerade recently underwent a facelift with the trade of Marcio Lassiter and Celino Cruz to Petron for Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Rey Guevarra and Lordy Tugade. There was also a move to deal Doug Kramer to Barako Bull for Jondan Salvador but PBA commissioner Chito Salud intervened, ruling that the Energy must improve the balance of the equation. “I think the PBA wants Barako to add a pick or another player for Kramer,” said Perasol.

Even with Lassiter gone, the Tigers remain a formidable squad with Gary David, Jvee Casio, Sean Anthony, Will Antonio, Josh Vanlandingham, Rudy Lingganay, Romel Adducul, Francis Allera, Ricky Calimag and James Martinez. Center Alex Crisano, recovering from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, will likely be ready to play late in the conference or early next season.

“I’m happy with our three new acquisitions (Al-Hussaini, Guevarra, Tugade),” said Perasol. “Rabeh is going to be one of our main men. I’m praying that everything will work out just fine. That includes Marcio in Petron.”

McCants might just be the right fit for the Tigers who made it to the Philippine Cup finals but failed to crash the playoffs in the Commissioner’s Cup. He was the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first round pick in the 2005 NBA draft out of the University of North Carolina. McCants played three years with the Tar Heels varsity, averaging 17 points in his first season, 20 in his second and 16 in his third. He was on North Carolina’s NCAA champion squad in 2005.

McCants played 3 1/2 seasons with the Timberwolves, earning over $7.4 Million, then was traded to Sacramento in the middle of the 2008-09 campaign. In 2007-08, he averaged 14.9 points and shot 40.7 percent from three-point distance with the Wolves. McCants is coming off a stint in the Puerto Rican league.

Eurobasket had this scouting report on McCants: “A great scorer who can score in a variety of ways. Very quick and strong. Excellent athlete who can finish in traffic. Great shooting stroke, he can hit the three-pointer with consistency. A true scoring machine who doesn’t miss when he is in the zone. Smart player who knows how to play the game. He is a capable passer and a good ballhandler. Undersized at just 6-4. He does not have the ability to play point guard in the NBA and will be strictly a shooting guard. Will have difficulty guarding bigger and more skilled NBA players. Not a good defender despite his exceptional strength and athleticism. Can score but does not excel at anything else.”

McCants’ problem is his unpredictability. He once agreed to play in China but never kept his part of the bargain – in fact, he never flew in. A few weeks ago, McCants left his team in Puerto Rico after playing only four scoreless minutes in a game. Whether McCants’ head is screwed in place for the PBA remains a question mark. The indication is McCants is coming to play with a vengeance.

“As young as I was, I made mistakes that I can’t take back and I just didn’t have leaders in my corner to help correct my decision making,” said McCants, quoted by Wendell Maxey in ridiculousupside.com. “I had to filter out my mistakes and learn from them as I furthered my career. I am currently in the process of making a remarkable comeback and I am prepared to demonstrate my growth as both a team player, and as the all-around exceptional athlete that I actually am. For the last three years, I have been searching for answers I had the whole time. Now that I have good people around me that have helped me to realize my true self, I know what has to be done. I have to knock the door down and be the professional basketball player I know I can be and I will do just that.”

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For the record, the Philippines is the third highest international originator of traffic on NBA.com. With the launch of the country’s own version of an NBA website via ph.nba.com, Filipino fans are now able to follow the league even more intently.

The localized NBA website’s schedule of NBA playoff games uses Manila time so fans know exactly when to keep track of scores, when to wake up early in the morning and when to sneak out from work.

Five writers were tapped to contribute regular columns on the website – The STAR’s Bill Velasco, AKTV’s Aaron Atayde, Business Mirror’s Rick Olivares, Solar’s Jinno Rufino and this writer. In my first piece, I wrote about my 10 most unforgettable NBA experiences and in my second, I touched on the San Antonio Spurs’ mission of redemption.

“The NBA has a long history in the Philippines and we are always looking to deliver bigger and better content to the millions of Filipino NBA fans,” said NBA Asia’s country manager of the Philippines Carlo Singson. “NBA.com Philippines … is a good blend of local commentary, global content and event information all in one place.”

According to the NBA, the Philippines is one of the world’s most passionate basketball nations where nearly 40 million people or 40 percent of the population, play or have played basketball. The sport is so ingrained in Philippine culture that there is a basketball court in almost every town, village and school across the country, noted the NBA.

Kevin Belmonte, president and CEO of philstar.com which is a partner of the NBA in creating ph.nba.com with X-Play Online Games, Inc. said: “It’s a great honor to be a part of this endeavor, knowing that we will be helping Filipino fans get their regular dose of NBA content – this time through ph.nba.com. “