THE absence of a Letter of Clearance (LOC) from Fiba prohibited Rain or Shine from fielding Greg Smith II in the PBA Governors' Cup game against Terrafirma on Thursday.
Smith sat out the game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum after Fiba notified the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) about the import still lacking a clearance from the league he last played for in the Dominican Republic.
“Naka ‘red flag’ pa siya sa Fiba. Ininform ang SBP about it,” said Commissioner Willie Marcial.
No fine has yet been meted to Rain or Shine management regarding its decision to play Smith in his first game against Blackwater despite the absence of an LOC.
The ballclub may be given a reprieve for the Blackwater match, but it faced a penalty for succeeding games that Smith played in without a Fiba clearance.
Smith fired 38 points in the 122-117 win, the first for the Elasto Painters this conference after losing their first four matches.
The import was a replacement for Michael Qualls.
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