BARAKO Bull is bringing in American journeyman DeVon Hardin as its import for the PBA Governors Cup, which is set to open on May 5.
Selected 50th overall by the Seattle Supersonics in the 2008 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-11 Hardin is coming off a stint with Paulistano/Unimed Sao Paolo in Brazil where he averaged 7.6 points and 5.5 boards in 19 minutes of action.
Coach Koy Banal said Hardin’s size is what the Energy needs for the season-ending conference, considering that their frontline got shorter after trading away Dave Marcelo to Barangay Ginebra two weeks ago.
“Iyung presensya niya ang kailangan namin kasi di naman kalakihan ang frontline namin,” Banal told Spin.ph in confirming the team’s decision to sign up Hardin.
The former standout from the University of California in Berkeley had stops in Greece, China, Israel, Turkey, Belarus, Argentina, Venezuela and Qatar.
Barako Bull’s original choice Jarrid Famous withdrew at the last minute, citing the death of his uncle, according to Banal.
Banal said everybody at Barako Bull is upbeat heading to the third conference because of the transfer of Dylan Ababou and James Forrester from Ginebra, who are expected to help them push the tempo of games.
“Excited ang lahat kasi may mga bago kami and everybody’s getting in shape again,” beamed Banal, whose team placed seventh in the Commissioner’s Cup after bowing to Talk ‘N Text in the quarterfinals.
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