PBA

[patay-butiki]

like i said, pba imports lineup are very much subject to change. below is an article about the challenges faced by imports in the pba. fairly dated, but still relevant and reflective of the current situation in the pba....

Players From U.S. Face Added Pressure in Philippines

Players From U.S. Face Added Pressure in Philippines

By RAPHAEL BARTHOLOMEW

Published: April 21, 2006

The New York Times

MANILA — Quemont Greer was atop the league in scoring in the Philippine Basketball Association, averaging almost 27 points in the regular season. Greer, a 6-foot-7 forward out of DePaul University, led his team, the Red Bull Barakos, to a 9-7 record and into the playoffs.

But before the playoffs started, Red Bull cut him. Coach Yeng Guiao said he did not think the team was good enough to win a championship with the 24-year-old Greer, so the Barakos replaced him with another player from the United States, the 29-year-old James Penny.

In the Philippines, where basketball vies with politics for the title of most ruthless pastime, heads of state are not the only ones who worry about being removed from office.

"You might get off the plane on Friday, and if you don't play good you could be gone next week," said James Hodges III, an agent based in Atlanta. He played professional basketball for 11 years, until 2004, and played the 1996 season in the Philippines.

Penny, out of Texas Christian, played in United States minor leagues, Mexico, the Domincan Republic, Argentina, Lebanon and China before the Philippines. But he had never taken someone's job so late in a season.

"Usually, when something like this happens the team is struggling," Penny said. "You don't come in and try to replace somebody who's the leading scorer in the league with his team being in second or third place. It's kind of iffy to me."

Coaches in the Philippine Basketball Association, however, do not lose much sleep over the way the league treats imports.

Foreign players are expected to do "pretty much everything," according to Ronnie Magsanoc, assistant coach for the Purefoods Chunkee Giants. That includes averaging at least 20 points and 12 rebounds a game while being a vocal leader and guarding the other teams' best players.

In the 2005-6 Fiesta Conference, the association's nine teams were each allowed one import who could be no taller than 6-6. Only four of the nine imports lasted the entire regular season, and two of those four did not make it through the postseason. One team, the Santa Lucia Realty, played four different imports during the 16-game regular season.

Imports can be replaced at any point in the season, including the playoffs. It would be possible, for example, to hire Latrell Sprewell for Game 7 of the association's finals. This would be considered good management, not unfair, according to Joel Banal, former coach of the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals. "They deserve to win if they can convince him to come," Banal said.

Lofty expectations and the attitude that the import players are disposable can put so much pressure on players that it affects their performance.

Darvin Ham, a member of the 2004 champion Detroit Pistons and an eight-year N.B.A. veteran, played three games with Talk 'N Text in January. Ham said it was like "hooping in handcuffs" because he had jet lag and he was unfamiliar with his teammates and persecuted by referees.

"They try to put the pressure on the import," Ham said. "It's a team sport. Everyone should be held accountable. I think the imports suffer for the lack of performance the natives might put out."

Ham, who was described as "no extraordinary player" on the Philippine Basketball Association's Web site, said he was treated unfairly; Talk 'N Text went 1-2 and lost their playoff series with him in the lineup. "I averaged a double-double over here with like 16 and 12," he said, referring to points and rebounds. "These articles the P.B.A. is putting online are like propaganda."

The key to avoiding the association's unforgiving eye is consistency, said Norman Black, a resident of the Philippines who grew up in Baltimore. He played and coached in the Phillipine association for more than 20 years.

"You're almost like a hired gun," Black said. "You better get the win, and if you don't win, you better get your numbers."

Players put up with the teams' reputation for being fickle employers because they pay well, Hodges, the agent, said. The league maximum salary of $12,000 a month is more than twice what players receive in the United States playing for the N.B.A. Development League or the Continental Basketball Association.

"Some guys will always take the chance," Hodges said. "They see the money it is offering and just run with it."

Players also know their next job is only a drop-step away.

"My agent's got a list of things lined up for me when I get back," Greer said before Red Bull replaced him. "It's just a matter of choosing the best job for me."