A NEW conference will start in the PBA 49th Season with the Commissioner’s Cup unfurling on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
The 19-day break between conferences, however, was not without fanfare with a few old faces now with new teams, and imports making a comeback after playing in the Governors’ Cup.
Also to be showcased is a guest team that will try to make a strong impact in this tournament.
Serving as SPIN.ph’s preview of the upcoming conference, here are seven storylines worth watching in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Will the tall imports make a difference this conference?
Entering the 49th Season, the PBA decided to scrap the height limit for Commissioner’s Cup. However, only two teams took advantage of the rule change with Rain or Shine deploying Kenneth Kadji and Terrafirma signing Ryan Earl Richards, all of which standing at 6-foot-11.
READ: Northport, NLEX replace imports days before Commissioner’s Cup
The rest, however, were even below the previous height limit of 6-foot-10, with the teams even bringing back their imports from the Governors’ Cup that had a height limit of 6-foot-6 that includes Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Justin Brownlee, and George King.
Can Troy Rosario help bring Ginebra to the top?
It became official on Monday when Troy Rosario’s name was part of the Barangay Ginebra roster for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Rosario will be with Ginebra for a while after agreeing to a three-year deal with Ginebra, bringing excitement to its legions of fans especially after their team shored their frontcourt.
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The Governors’ Cup finals series against TNT showed how lean the frontcourt is since Christian Standhardinger was traded to Terrafirma. Rosario will now bring a different kind of big for Barangay Ginebra, a more mobile one who can play in and out. Will that be enough for a title run? We will see.
How far can Converge go with Heading and Balti?
The FiberXers also made headlines entering the conference by acquiring sharp-shooter Jordan Heading in a trade with Terrafirma for Aljun Melecio, Keith Zaldivar, and a 51st season first round draft pick.
Converge has added a scoring weapon in Heading while it also awaits for the PBA debut of Justine Baltazar, which could come mid-December after the MPBL finals concludes.
Converge showed that it can compete when Heading and Baltazar were still not in the team, reaching the final game of the quarterfinals in the PBA Governors’ Cup before being ousted by San Miguel. With the two aboard, can Converge make a deeper run in the Commissioner’s Cup?
Is reigning champion SMB facing import woes again?
When the PBA roster for the Commissioner’s Cup was released, San Miguel was noticeably the lone team without an import, not exactly the best way to reveal a team’s line-up in the conference where they are defending the championship.
At the moment, SMB actually has two imports due to their EASL stint in EJ Anosike and Quincy Miller, who is reportedly one of their top options.
READ: Christmas comes early for SMB new-boy Juami Tiongson
One can argue that SMB actually made an import switch last season when Bennie Boatwright led the Beermen to the crown. But history has also showed the struggles of the team when it has a revolving door of imports.
Either way, is it a sign of things to come for San Miguel? Is it good or bad? Fortunately, there is still time as SMB won’t play until December 8 against NLEX.
Regardless, the Beermen have gotten a lot younger after acquiring Juami Tiongson and Drei Cahilig from Terrafirma on Monday. It will be determined on the court where they indeed got stronger.
Can the Terrence Romeo-Stanley Pringle rekindle their Globalport days at Terrafirma?
Speaking of that aforementioned trade between San Miguel and Terrafirma, the Dyip were able to gain veterans Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel in that trade with the Beermen, setting the stage for a reunion between Romeo and Stanley Pringle, who had that 1-2 punch with Globalport during their early days.
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It remains to be seen whether the two can renew that combo especially with Romeo now at 32 and Pringle at 37. The trade comes after another period of transition for the team as Terrafirma is also under a new coach in Raymond Tiongco, replacing Johnedel Cardel.
Is Eastern as competitive as the Bay Area Dragons?
Eastern comes in as the guest team for the Commissioner’s Cup with a high standard to beat. The last time such squad came in the PBA, the Bay Area Dragons reached the finals before being defeated by Barangay Ginebra last year, and Eastern will be hardpressed to duplicate such achievement.
Cameron Clark returns as a PBA import for Eastern, and he’s not the only one who is coming back as former Dragons players Hayden Blakley, Glen Yang, and Kobey Lam are also part of the Eastern team.
Can TNT also win in the Commissioner’s Cup and break its title drought in the conference?
While San Miguel is the defending champion, TNT also has a target in its back as it's fresh from capturing the Governors’ Cup title earlier this month.
The team decided to keep its team intact and stayed with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson as their import, with the usual reliables Jayson Castro, Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, and Poy Erram going for their second title of the season.
There is another potential goal to set for Chot Reyes' wards - TNT hasn’t won a Commissioner’s Cup crown in nine years, the last time being in 2015 when the Tropang Giga edged Rain or Shine in Game Seven.
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