Beermen hopeful to tab Onuaku as import

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel coach Leo Austria described Arinze Onuaku as a short version of Shaquille O’Neal who can give the Beermen a good shot at back-to-back championships if not signed by any NBA team.

“We’re still hoping we can have him although we know no less than six NBA teams have expressed interest on him after his remarkable showing in the NBA D-League Showcase Cup,” Austria told The STAR.

“He had actually signed up with us but then he got a call from the NBA. We have to wait now as he explores on the NBA possibilities,” Austria also said.

Former Dallas Maverick Eric Griffin is a possible replacement San Miguel is looking at.

“The problem is that he also awaits call from the NBA. In case both become available, Onuaku is our first option,” said Austria.

“Onuaku is an undersized big man in the NBA, but he’ll dominate in the PBA,” said Austria of the 27-year-old Lanham, Maryland native, No. 1 in the Syracuse all-time list with a .648 field shooting and No. 11 in blocks with 148.

San Miguel’s idea is to have him to complement and not to take away the minutes of either Junemar Fajardo or Arwind Santos.

“We want somebody who can match up with the other imports so that we can still have our matchup advantage with Junemar,” said Austria.

“Onuaku is a player who will need to be doubled on defense. If we have him on one side and Junemar on the other, we would be very formidable,” Austria also said.

The Beermen can wait a while since they don’t play in the Commissioner’s Cup until Feb. 4.

After bagging the PBA Philippine Cup crown Wednesday, Austria said the earliest that they return to practice is Tuesday.

Austria insisted their chance for a second straight championship would depend a lot on who is their import.

“The Commissioner’s Cup is 40 percent about the import. If the other teams can find somebody to match up with Junemar, then we lose that advantage,” said Austria. “So, we really have to look for an import that will allow us to have our advantage over the others.”

Griffin is listed as a 6-foot-8 forward. And he may turn out to be smaller under the PBA height measurement system.

Already measured at the PBA Commissioner’s Office were Rain or Shine’s Rich Jackson at 6-8 1/16, Kia’s PJ Ramos at 7-2 ¾, Barako Bull’s Solomon Alabi at 7-0 ½ and Talk n Text’s Richard Howell at 6-6 15/16.

Others set to play in the Commissioner’s Cup slated to start Jan. 27 are Alaska’s DJ Covington, Barangay Ginebra’s Michael Dunigan, Blackwater’s Chris Charles, NLEX’s Al Thornton, Purefoods’ Daniel Orton, Globalport’s CJ Leslie and Meralco’s Josh Davis.

Meralco coach Norman Black personally scouted Davis with the Austin Toros in the D-League Showcase Cup.

Coming out of the SDSU campus, Davis was nicknamed “Kawhi 2.0” for his rebounding skills and his profound likeness to 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.

Davis averaged 10.1 rebounds and 7.7 points in one year at SDSU after earlier stints with North Carolina State then with Tulane.

After his senior year at San Diego State, he joined Charlotte in the NBA Summer League where he put in 8.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He finished three of seven games with double-double numbers.