MAHINDRA has turned to a more traditional big man as its import, replacing James White with Keith Wright for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Despite White averaging 30.5 points on 53.8-percent shooting, 18.5 boards, 2.5 blocks, one assist, and 0.8 steal in 40.8 minutes in four games, the Floodbuster have lost three of their first four games in the midseason tournament.
Now the Floodbuster hope to start to climb the standings after tapping Wright, listed at 6’8” and last played for the Westchester Knicks in the NBA D-League.
“We love James White. He’s been nothing but a great professional for our team and it was a decision based on necessity,” Floodbuster coach Chris Gavina said in a text message.
“For this conference and with our current lineup, we needed to address a low-post presence and we’re hoping Keith Wright can provide that for us,” he added of the 27-year-old reinforcement, a Harvard product who has been a journeyman after going undrafted from the 2012 NBA rookie pool.
Wright arrived late Monday night and joined the team’s practice on Tuesday.
White played his last game in Mahindra’s 98-92 loss to Alaska last Wednesday.
“James is getting his numbers, but it’s not the numbers where it’s making a significant effect,” Gavina said after the loss. “He did put out a hell of an effort but it wasn't the vital stats that we needed for us to go out on top.”
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