BIG imports have turned the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on its head with underdog squads vaulting past pre-tournament favorites.
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Alaska Aces and the Meralco Bolts are the unlikely leaders because of the contributions of their big imports.
Rain or Shine import Reggie Johnson, the PBA’s biggest monster, has provided the inside presence both on offense and defense to power his squad to the top of the heap.
Johnson relies on his bulk to power inside and score from the paint, muscles out opposing big men for rebounds and is strong enough to stand his ground even against the strongest post scorers.
With a league-leading 7-1 (win-loss) record entering the homestretch of the elimination the Elasto Painters are gunning for a top two finish going into the quarterfinals.
The Elasto Painters had modest goals this conference but Johnson has allowed them to exceed all expectations and become the unlikely leaders.
Alaska’s big import Tony Campbell, on the other hand, has relied on his deadly outside shooting to tow his team to its seventh consecutive victory when they beat the NLEX Road Warriors, 120-111 Friday, June 15 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Campbell drilled a pair of three-pointers while Simon Enciso drained his own triple to cap a 17-11 finishing run which turned a slim 99-97 lead by Alaska to an insurmountable 116-108 edge with just 1:16 left to play, allowing the Aces to coast to victory.
Campbell waxed hot early as he drilled a three-pointer, his 10th point in the first quarter alone, to push the Aces to a 12-point, 23-10, advantage with 4:05 to go in the first period. Alaska enjoyed its biggest lead of 18 points, 36-18, with 9:00 to go in the second period.
Campbell finished with 28 points (on four of five shooting from three-point distance) and eight rebounds to win Player of the Game honors.
The victory propelled the Aces (7 wins, 1 loss) to a tie at the top spot with league-leading Rain or Shine.
The other teams include Meralco (6-2), the TNT KaTropa (6-2), the Magnolia Hotshots (4-4), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (4-4), the Columbian Dyip (4-5), the San Miguel Beermen (3-4) and the Phoenix Petroleum Fuelmasters (3-5).
Bringing up the rear are Barangay Ginebra (2-5), the Road Warriors (2-7) and the Blackwater Elite (1-9).
Meanwhile, Meralco leaned on big import Arinze Onuaku to cruise to a 102-75 victory over Blackwater and formalized its entry into the quarterfinals. Onuaku came through with a double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds to power his team to victory and gain a tie at third place in the standings.
The Bolts extended their win streak to three games and kept themselves in contention for a top two finish by the end of the eliminations.
The top eight teams advance to the quarterfinals and big imports have allowed underdog squads like Rain or Shine, Alaska and Meralco to overtake league powerhouses San Miguel Beer, Magnolia and Ginebra.
