CAMERON Forte may be so good a player that no less than two PBA teams are after his services for the coming Reinforced Conference.
Forte ended up hooking up with NorthPort, but was also under the radar of Blackwater.
Bossing coach Ariel Vanguardia admitted Forte, a product of Portlang State, was among those being considered by the team for the league’s second conference, but was beaten to the draw by the Batang Pier.
Blackwater eventually settled for Jaylen Bond of Temple University.
While he may be seeing action in Asia’s pioneering pro league for the very first time, Filipino fans should be familiar with his brand of basketball, having seen him play for the Jordan national team as a naturalized player and in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).
Just last July, Forte, 28, powered Jordan to the King’s Cup championship in a run which saw the Jordanians beat Gilas Pilipinas twice – in the preliminary and later, in the semifinals.
He also saw action as world import for the Formosa Dreamers in the 2018 ABL season.
Forte was coming off a stint with the London Lightning in the National Basketball League (NBL) of Canada.
Qualls is original NorthPort choice
NorthPort initially thought of rehiring former Arkansas stalwart Michael Qualls, but he was not available for a second tour of duty with the franchise.
“He’s currently playing in Europe, and gusto ng club team niya to buy out his contract,” a NorthPort insider said, declining to reveal how much the contract is worth.
Qualls was best known for leading the Batang Pier to the semifinals of the 2019 Governors Cup after eliminating top seed and twice-to-beat NLEX.
NorthPort’s classic 126-123 win over NLEX in triple overtime during their do-or-die game for a semis berth was one of the most watched games during the league’s 44th season.
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