Mo’ money, mo’ problems.
I guess this sums up whatever is happening with the San Miguel Beermen.
Just because San Miguel can afford to acquire multiple imports, doesn't mean they can just spam it until the conference is over.
Malik Pope is their seventh import in two conferences, and I don’t think he’s a keeper.
The only way an import can keep his job after a 4-point performance is if he had 20 rebounds or 10 blocks or a plus/minus of +30.
I don’t know how San Miguel can justify keeping Pope over Torren Jones.
Since their inception, San Miguel has been synonymous with great imports. Aside from Norman Black and Bobby Parks, they have had the likes of Mike Phelps, Kenny Travis, Lamont Strothers, Terq Mott, Larry Robinson, and Gabe Freeman, among others.
In the last five import-laden conferences, San Miguel has paraded Diamond Stone, Devon Scott, Cameron Clark, Ivan Aska, Bennie Boatwright, Jordan Adams, Sheldon Mac, EJ Anosike, Quincy Miller, Torren Jones, Jabari Narcis, and Malik Pope. Of the twelve imports, Clark is the only player to play from start to finish. As far as taking the Beermen to the Promised Land, Boatwright is partly responsible for San Miguel’s 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup title, while Anosike was the import to commander the squad to a 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup finals finish.
And I guess the same can be said with Magnolia. Yes, they are sticking with Ricardo Ratliffe, but over the same span, they had Nick Rakocevic, Eric McCree, Antonio Hester, Tyler Bey, Glenn Robinson III, Shabazz Muhammad, Rayvonte Rice, and Jabari Bird. Now Rakocevic and Bey played for the Hotshots from start to finish, with Hester seeing action in Magnolia’s last nine games after McCree’s 0-3 tenure. Barring injuries and circumstances, I guess Ratliffe is also going to see action for the Hotshots for the entirety of the Commissioner’s Cup.
For Ginebra, it’s usually The Justin Brownlee Show from the Commissioner’s Cup to the Governors’ Cup. Except for that time when Tony Bishop was there because of China, Tim Cone has been JB all the way. In Brownlee’s last six conferences, Ginebra had four championships and two finals appearances.
I just couldn’t get why San Miguel is unable to get an import to combine with June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.
Usually, San Miguel has this thing in which they have a surplus of Mythical Teamers, all-stars, and farm team harvests. However, the Beermen have been nerfed. Yes, they took Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig from Terrafirma for the injury-plagued Terrence Romeo and the depowered version of Vic Manuel, but at this point, they have already decreased the star status of their players. Don Trollano, Jericho Cruz, and Mo Tautuaa weren’t the same players when they entered the team, and what about Jeron F’N Teng?
Even Romeo was okay playing less than 20 minutes per game. He may have won a couple of championships with the Beermen, but he’s far from the cocky, Iverson-like baller of old.
This is why the imports need to play like big-time hired guns so they can compensate with the rest of the roster. However, how can an import get his bearing when he’s always worried about losing his job even if the team is winning? You can’t have June Mar Fajardo averaging 17 and 17 without their import losing stats in other categories. Maybe the Beermen can look for an import who plays like CJ Perez, but unfortunately, most of their locals are either shooting guards or small forwards.
The Beermen are two games away from potentially missing the quarterfinals. The axe could fall on them, or Magnolia, or the NLEX Road Warriors. One of these teams will advance to the next round and it’s hard to imagine the next round without a healthy June Mar Fajardo.
But they can’t advance with Malik Pope, especially with the performances he has had as of late.
Maybe it's time for San Miguel to just pay June Mar "import money."
Get Sydrified.