2019 PBA Com. Cup News: Alaska and Meralco have new imports!

(c) PBA Media Bureau

The competition is getting hotter as two teams have decided to bring in new imports. Did they make the right call? Who are these new foreign players? Let us see.

ALASKA ACES

Tonight, Alaska will showcase a different import in Nino Johnson. Even though they are 4-2, they still decided to cut ties with Chris Daniels who is averaging 22.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.

Johnson played in the 2018-2019 season of the NBA G-League. He averaged 6.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.1 blocks and 61.4% FG per game. In 2018, he played in Iceland, manufacturing 17.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.8 blocks and 55.4% FG per game.

One glaring hole from his game is three-point shooting. He never attempted a three-pointer in the G-League which means the spacing of the Aces will be worse with him than with Daniels who shot 44% from beyond the arc.

Watching his highlights, he may not even have a functional medium-range shot. Which means, he relies heavily on his inside scoring. He is athletic and strong, which means he can overpower almost all the local players out there.

Defensively, he is an experienced inside defender, although I do not trust his rim protection.

Overall, I am not sure if he is an upgrade over Chris Daniels. Especially if we consider the fact that the locals will just need to build their chemistry with him from scratch.

MERALCO BOLTS

Gani Lawal returned to the United States to treat a hamstring injury that he has been playing with, in the past five games. Lawal produced 28.8 points, 22.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.8 blocks and 52% FG per game.

They will replace him with Jimmie Taylor who played four seasons in the NCAA in America. In the 2018 season of the NBA G-League, he averaged 7.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 66.7% FG per game.

In 2019, he played for two international leagues, Poland and Greece, and produced 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 64.2% FG per game.

Just like Nino Johnson, Jimmie is a rim finisher. One advantage of Jimmie could be his monstrous 7'5 wingspan! That should help him be a very good contributor on both ends of the court for the Bolts.