SAN Miguel has enlisted a third import for the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup when Devon Scott replaced Diamond Stone, who actually played the first three games after took over after Thomas Robinson sustained an injury prior to the start of the tournament.
A change in import doesn’t necessarily mean trouble. In fact, San Miguel reached the finals in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup when Renaldo Balkman came in as a replacement. The Beermen won the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup with Chris McCullough taking over, the only time since 2015 that the team won a title when replacing an import.
Still, SMB fans have reason to be concerned with the revolving door of imports that led to unsuccessful campaigns.
Here are some of the examples:
2015 COMMISSIONER’S CUP
After their ‘Beeracle’ run, San Miguel missed the quarterfinals after the team started out with a 0-4 record with Ronald Roberts. Arizona Reid, the team’s import for the Governors’ Cup, came in but SMB still fell short. San Miguel could have won the grand slam that season as Reid led the team to a sweep of Alaska in the third conference.
Ronald Roberts
2016 COMMISSIONER’S CUP
San Miguel topped the elimination round with Tyler Wilkerson as the team’s import. But the Beermen were suddenly left without one in the middle of the semifinals after releasing Wilkerson, who had an argument with head coach Leo Austria after Game Two. Still, it was a difficult situation for San Miguel as the Beermen played one game all-Filipino before taking in Governors’ Cup import Arizona Reid again as replacement. San Miguel lost to fifth seed and eventual champion Rain or Shine.
2016 GOVERNORS’ CUP
The Beermen were eliminated in Game Five of the semifinals in this conference, a decent result considering they had to change imports twice. Arizona Reid got injured midway through the eliminations, with Mike Singletary taking over only on a temporary basis. Elijah Millsap finished the campaign for the Beermen, but could only churn out 18 points in the do-or-die game against Ginebra.
Mike Singletary
2017 GOVERNORS’ CUP
The Beermen’s bid for a grand slam was derailed when they had three imports during that conference. Wendell McKines first saw action for SMB but was replaced by Terik Bridgeman, who was soon released after scoring just four points in his second game. Terrence Watson replaced Bridgeman but couldn't ave SMB from finishing sixth in the quarterfinals before being ousted by Ginebra.
2018 GOVERNORS’ CUP
AZ Reid once again returned for San Miguel but this proved to be his last hurrah with the Beermen, who made the change after a 2-2 win-loss slate. Kevin Murphy was the replacement but San Miguel only got the No. 6 spot in the quarterfinals and was eliminated by Alaska.
Kevin Murphy
2019 GOVERNORS’ CUP
San Miguel was once again on a brink of a grand slam when it called up Dez Wells as its import. Wells, however, suffered an ankle injury and the Beermen were forced to play without an import before John Holland took over. Holland, however, was unable to give the Beermen a win in his stint. Worst, Wells was eventually sent home after figuring in a practice melee with locals, with the team also suspending Arwind Santos, Ronald Tubid, and Kelly Nabong for their roles in the fight. The Beermen were eliminated by Ginebra in the quarterfinals, their grand slam bid again ending in disappointment.
2021 GOVERNORS’ CUP
Orlando Johnson came in as a replacement for Brandon Brown midway through the conference. Despite a solid showing during his stint, Johnson was replaced by Shabazz Muhammad, who had a five-year stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves before his move to the PBA. Muhammad thrilled the fans with a 57-point performance against Meralco in the eliminations but his stay didn’t last as they were bumped out by the same Bolts team in the quarterfinals in just one game after taking advantage of the twice-to-beat edge in the playoffs.
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