(c) PBA Media Bureau
As expected, the crop of imports for the last conference of the 2019 PBA season was very deep. We have more than a handful of reinforcement that is capable of carrying their teams to victory against the elite.
So, it is time to rank them, again.
#12 Alaska - Frank House (New!)
I am not really sure if the Alaska management is actually devastated about the current production of House or they look at it as everything is going according to plan. At this point, Alaska's scouting team will be having a lot of work in preparation for the upcoming draft.
#11 Rain or Shine - Kayel Locke (New!)
The two teams that replaced their imports may have gotten unlucky with their picks. Rain or Shine is on a much better state than Alaska, that they should really think about finding a replacement for Locke.
#10 Northport - Mychal Ammons (Previous Rank: #11)
Ammons' impact was not on par with Prince Ibeh. Ammons is a very good defensive player but not on the level that Batang Pier can anchor their defense on him. At this point, Batang Pier should really contemplate of having a replacement.
#9 Blackwater - Marqus Blakely (Previous Rank: #5)
The fact that Blakely was only able to practice with Blackwater for a few weeks before the start of the conference was the main reason of his bad start. The good thing is, he is still filling up the stat sheet, averaging 11.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.3 steals, 4.7 blocks and 46% FG per game.
#8 NLEX - Olu Ashaolu (Previous Rank: #10)
It seems like Olu is a better team player than expected. I thought, he will be demanding the ball more than what he did in their first five games. Instead, he let Kiefer Ravena control their offense and he went through the motion, helping his team to a 4-1 start.
#7 Magnolia - Romeo Travis (Previous Rank: #3)
This is basically the starting point of the cream of the crop of this batch of imports. Even though he is at #7, Travis is much closer to getting back to his #3 rank than to go down to #8. Travis remains to be a topnotch team defender that the Hotshots needed.
#6 Columbian - Khapri Alston (Previous Rank: #9)
I told you from the start that Alston will be very productive. He is averaging 31 points, 16.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 56% FG per game. He is an inside operator who can score against anyone.
#5 San Miguel - Dez Wells (Previous Rank: #6)
Dez is a superb scorer, producing 33.0 points in 54% shooting in the field. Although, my fear about him was confirmed because he is only attempting 4.3 three-pointers per game with 23% efficiency. Compared to the top 4, Wells is lacking on other areas of the game.
#4 Phoenix - Eugene Phelps (Previous Rank: #7)
Phelps is still the most unstoppable slasher in the PBA but we also need to consider the performance of the team. His 33.2 points, 17.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 53% FG per game production is not enough to protect his team from a 1-4 start.
#3 Meralco - Allen Durham (Previous Rank: #4)
His impact to Meralco is as obvious as ever. After being a cellar-dweller in the first two conferences, Meralco is back as one of the top teams in this tournament. His presence may have unlocked Raymond Almazan, who is having a very good start to this conference.
#2 Ginebra - Justin Brownlee (Previous Rank: #1)
Are you not aware that Brownlee just delivered a historic game against NLEX in Dubai? He delivered 42 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 blocks. Unfortunately, they suffered a come-from-behind defeat.
#1 TNT - KJ McDaniels (Previous Rank: #2)
Kudos to Brownlee for upping his game to make this decision a much harder one than expected. Nevertheless, KJ is a freak on both ends of the court. Even though he is very athletic, he is not actually the flashiest. But, he is still unloading on numbers on both ends of the court.
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