Croatian giant eyed by ROS

MANILA, Philippines - A 7-2, 270-pound mastadon from Croatia is being considered to reinforce Rain Or Shine in the PBA second conference starting Feb. 8 as teams are now burning the lines to sign up imports of unlimited height in preparation for the Commissioner’s Cup.

Bruno Sundov, 32, was intimated to be high on coach Yeng Guiao’s wish list by a team source and if he plays for the Painters, will be the tallest import in the conference. Sundov was the Dallas Mavericks’ second round pick in the 1998 NBA draft and has played for the Mavs, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks in 102 games over seven seasons ending in 2004-05.

Within the next few weeks, imports will be planing in to begin practice. Petron’s Renaldo Balkman of the University of South Carolina is flying in Jan. 6. Global Port’s Justin Williams of the University of Wyoming is coming in Jan. 10. Meralco’s Eric Dawson of Midwestern State is arriving Jan. 15. Air 21 hopes to bring in its import on Jan. 22 and it could Michael Dunigan of the University of Oregon.

Other imports lined up to see action are Alaska’s Diamon Simpson of St. Mary’s College, San Mig Coffee’s Denzel Bowles of James Madison University, Barangay Ginebra’s Herbert Hill of Providence, Barako Bull’s Al Thornton of Florida State and Talk ‘N’ Text’s Marcus Douthit of Providence.

A source said 6-9, 240-pound, 12-year NBA veteran Kenyon Martin of the University of Cincinnati is open to play in the PBA but is still weighing his options. Martin, 34, was the first round pick of the New Jersey Nets in the 2000 NBA draft and has played for the Nets, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 16.7 points in two seasons with the Nets in 2002-03 and 2003-04. Martin reportedly is open to a month-to-month contract so he’ll still be available for a call-up back to the NBA or to play in Puerto Rico starting April.

Texters team manager Aboy Castro said Martin is not on the Tropa’s candidates list. “But I guess, we should consider him if he’s available,” said Castro. “We’re still finalizing whom to get. We heard Air 21 does not intend to bring back Marcus and that the PBA will allow us to negotiate with him directly, assuming Air 21 releases his rights. There will be no raffle for Marcus this time. We’ll finalize during the first week of January.”

PBA commissioner Chito Salud confirmed that Douthit will be considered a restricted free agent import with Air 21 holding on to his rights because he played for the Express last season. If Air 21 relinquishes his rights, Douthit will be free to negotiate a contract with any team.

Air 21 coach Franz Pumaren insinuated that the Express will not retain Douthit’s rights. “We are currently negotiating with Michael Dunigan’s agent and our target date for him to be in Manila is Jan. 22,” said Pumaren.

Barako interim coach Bong Ramos said the Energy has not decided whom to enlist. “I’m just an interim coach right now,” he said. “I’m still waiting for management. I haven’t spoken with my bosses. I’m looking at names sent by email but no decision has been made. We’ll talk about it after the holiday break. But we’re checking the profiles of prospective imports now.”

A top candidate for Barako is the 6-8, 235-pound Thornton who played four seasons with the Clippers, Washington and Golden State Warriors in the NBA. He was the Clippers’ first round pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Thornton, 29, is trying out for the New York Knicks at the moment and if he’s not signed up, he could be available to play in the PBA starting Feb. 12. Another candidate is Evan Brock, a 6-9 power forward from the University of Alabama. Brock, 28, played four games for the Atlanta Hawks in 2010-11.

Alaska coach Luigi Trillo said the Aces are considering to bring back either Simpson or Adam Parada but may settle for a “mystery man” from the NBA. “Diamon is willing to come but may have some problems against the bigger imports,” said Trillo. “Parada can only be available by March. We’re consulting Sean Chambers on whom would be a good fit for us.” The NBA player in Trillo’s wish list has played on two NBA championship teams.