CHICAGO -- With the Governor's Cup conference a mere 10 days away, it is unusual for a team to switch imports.
At San Miguel, though, recent history has shown that such a move is routine.
In last season's Commissioner's Cup, for instance, the Beermen went through Tyler Stone and Ivan Aska before signing former USC alum Bennie Boatright who led them to a championship.
In the 2022 Governor's Cup, San Miguel also had a revolving door for imports and brought in Brandon Brown and Orlando Johnson before flaming out with former NBAer Shabazz Muhammad.
This time, it's an American and UCLA product. Jordan Adams, subbing in for Lithuanian Tauras Jogela.
If I were Jordan, I wouldn't get too comfy. Two tweaks, not one, seem to be SMB's charm.
In the PBA, a prominent agent explained to me, only big name imports usually get signed to guaranteed contracts of up to three months. The lesser mortals get as low as two-week deals.
SUB-PAR PERFORMANCE
Given Jogela's modest credentials, it probably didn't cost the Beermen a lot to let him go. But money wasn't just the reason for Jogela's dismissal.
Per multiple sources, San Miguel lost a tune-up game to -- of all teams -- Blackwater. The Lithuanian, I was told, didn't perform well during the 7-point loss.
Given their bottomless resources, it was surprising why the Beermen picked Jogela in the first place.
The 6-foot-6 forward averaged only 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2 assists at C-Bet in his home country's league. I guess San Miguel was looking for a facilitator like Boatwright and found out that Taurus wasn't that guy.
However, here's a more mysterious move the Beermen made. They let go of Avan Nava whom they picked in the first round (12th overall) in last month's Rookie Draft.
Considering the time and effort required in ascertaining who to choose in a large pool of fresh talent, it's perplexing how San Miguel just casually discarded the 6-foot-2 Fil-Canadian.
HERE'S A FEW CLUES
"Little is really known about him besides the fact that he played in the KBL," a team manager said of Nava, who averaged 3.8 points and 1.2 assists in 38 games with the Samsung Thunders last season.
"Avan is talented but he still needs to adapt to the physicality and pace of the PBA," an agent added.
But losing out on a first-rounder didn't exactly hurt San Miguel. Somehow, NorthPort, which just extended his contract, suddenly released Kris Rosales and the Beermen quickly snagged him.
Story for another day but do you smell collusion?
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