San Miguel Beer will be bringing in Nate Carter as its reiforcement
in the PBA Fiesta Cup which is seen this early to be as intense and
exciting what with other teams rarin’ to bounce back after forgettable
stints in the just concluded Philippine Cup.Just like Sta. Lucia
Realty, the SMB franchise opted for a relatively taller reiforcement in
Carter in its effort to boost its rebounding in the season-ending
tournament where sister team Barangay Ginebra is the defending champion.With
the naming of Carter as its import, the initial cast of imports that
inlcudes four former imports is now complete, way ahead in time for the
tournament which reels off on March 1 with an out of town game in
Dumaguete City featuring Sta. Lucia Realty and Burger King.“We
needed someone who could help us in rebound,” said San Miguel coach
Siot Tanquingcen, noting that rebounding was one of the team’s
weaknesses in the previous conference.The Beermen lost to
eventual Philippine Cup champions Talk ‘N Text in the semifinals, and
are hoping to make a big comeback of sort in the next tournament with
the former Oklahoma University forward to be at the forefront of their
bid.The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Carter played for two seasons for
the OU Sooners (2003-2007). He averaged 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds.
He also played in the French league where he averaged 17.3 points and
6.1 rebounds in 19 games with Saint-Etienne.The SMB management said Carter is due to arrive on Monday or Tuesday.Shawn
Daniels is back for Burger King, as well as Rod Nealy who will will try
to boost Barangay Ginebra’s offense. JJ Sullinger is now with
Coca-Cola, while Charles Clark III returns for Rain or Shine.Alaska
is keen on summoning Rosell Ellis to another tour of duty in its bid to
bounce back after that stinging loss in the Philippine Cup. The
management though has yet to decide on the matter.Sta Lucia is bringing in James Jackson while Purefoods will have Reggie Larry.Red Bull is bringing in Tennessee product Scooter McFagdon while Talk ‘N Text will suit up Tiras Wade.Stars
Danny Seigle and Dorian Peña have gone in and out of the disabled list
while Danny Ildefonso sat out the previous conference because of
injuries, leaving the wingmen led by Cebuano hotshot Dondon Hontiveros
to carry the load.“We could’ve done better in the previous conference,” said Tanquingcen. “But that’s that and we need to move forward.”