MATTHEW Wright flying to Japan means new beginnings for the former Phoenix gunner at new club Kyoto Hannaryz, which hopes to the PBA star bring his well-rounded game to the Japan B.League.
Wright, 31, will be relied upon to add firepower to a Kyoto team which ranked at the bottom-third of the league when it comes to three-point shooting, making only 34.1-percent of its long bombs last season.
[READ: Wright signs with Kyoto in Japan B.League]
The Fil-Canadian, who has established himself as one of the most reliable gunslingers in the PBA for the past six years, shot 30-percent from beyond the arc to notch 15.0 points this past PBA Philippine Cup.
Of course, there will be an adjustment period for Wright upon his arrival in the Land of the Rising Sun, but that should be fast-tracked with the Hannaryz coming in with a clean slate this season after just collecting 14 wins and suffering 43 losses the last time out.
Cheick Diallo, a 6-foot-9 Malian big man who spent four seasons in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns, has been signed to reinforce the team for this campaign.
Jarrod Uthoff, who was one of the reliable imports for SeaHorses Mikawa, has also moved to Kyoto, while Canadian forward TJ Lall out of Carlton University in Ottawa complete the Hannaryz' reinforcement cast.
[READ: Gilas clause non-negotiable for Matthew Wright]
Kyoto will also be under new management under Canadian coach Roy Rana, who served as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in the past three seasons and is also currently the Egypt national coach.
Also among the new faces for the Hannaryz include Kiefer Ravena's former Shiga Lakestars teammates Tomomasa Ozawa and Marcus Kaishu Tobin, Zack Moore and Ryuji Aoki from Osaka Evessa, and Kanta Mizuno from Akita Northern Happinets.
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