CHICAGO— The very public and messy divorce between San Miguel Beer and Justin Patton highlights the fragility of a team-import relationship in the PBA.
Before missing San Miguel’s loss to Magnolia last Sunday, Patton was also a no-show at several practices, according to multiple reports.
READ Touchdown Manila for new San Miguel import Bennie Boatwright
As correctly pointed out by team manager Gee Abanilla, it’s “odd” and “unprofessional” behavior.
Patton referenced a bum stomach and the need to rest his foot as reasons for going AWOL.
Intestinal issues are manageable and unless the foot is broken, a world-class athlete such as Patton, can soldier through aches and pains.
BODY ACHE OR BROKEN HEART?
So the issue here, I believe, was his willingness to rejoin the team after learning that he was being replaced.
With Bennie Boatwright coming in, Patton’s ship sailed and the former Chicago Bull apparently didn’t take it well.
“Yung mga imports, lalo na yung mga ex-NBA players, may ego 'yan. Nasasaktan 'yun pag pinalitan,” a former PBA head coach told me on Monday night.
Indeed, regardless of the diplomacy employed or the careful choice of words used to cushion the ending of the relationship, a break-up is still a form of rejection and it stings.
So how can such foreigner flare-up be prevented?
“You have to be straight forward with them,” the coach said when facing a situation where an import switch is about to take place.
SO MANY QUESTIONS.
Did San Miguel tell Patton promptly about his release or did he find out somewhere else?
Was Patton really the permanent replacement for Marcus Lee or was he just a placeholder until Boatwright finishes his obligations in the KBL?
If so, was Patton informed that his stint could possibly be no more than a fling?
Regardless, there’s no excuse for Patton’s absence that led to San Miguel’s injurious 3-4 drop in the team standings of a conference where there are only 12 elimination round games.
But San Miguel is not blameless here, either.
In the Season 49 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Beermen went through four imports, which makes us wonder why.
I mean, they’re not Magnolia ice cream.
There shouldn’t be more than one “flavor of the month.”
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