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By Joel Orellana, Reporter
PUREFOODS Tender Juicy Hotdog
begins its title-retention bid Sunday against Red Bull at the start
of the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Giants, who are celebrating
their 50th year in the business, and the Bulls collide in the main
game at 6:30 p.m.
In the first game, American Alex
Compton finally debuts in the PBA as his Welcoat Paints collides
with Coca-Cola at 4:05 p.m.
The league gave a go-signal for
the 33-year-old Compton to play as the Dragons’ second import.
They will be reinforced by Charles Clark of Johnson C. Smith
University.
The Tigers of coach Binky Favis
will parade Anthony Johnson of Louisiana whom according to scouts is
the best all-around import in the field.
Purefoods will enter the court
minus its key players as Kerby Raymunod has been loaned to the
national team while Marc Pingris and Jun Limpot are injured.
“We’re not the tallest team
right now so we must rely on our quickness and passion again to
finally make it to the finals again with our import,” said Giants
head coach Ryan Gregorio.
Marquin Chandler, the winner of
the Best Import plum last year, is in town but won’t see action
for at least two weeks due to an injury. Jesse King of Texas is the
team’s temporary import until Chandler finally gets back to old
form.
Red Bull is being tagged as one
of the top favorites in the tournament for having an intact lineup
and the return of reliable reinforcement James Penny of Texas
Christian University.
With Compton around, Welcoat is
gearing up for a better finish in the Fiesta Cup following a dismal
3-15 finish in the Philippine Cup and ended up last in the 10-team
field.
“Medyo mas maganda ang tsansa
namin ngayon with Alex. Yung import namin masipag and can play
multiple positions kaya magandang laban ngayon ito para sa team,”
said Dragons mentor Leo Austria.
Johnson was Favis’ personal
choice when the Coke coach went to the United States to scout for an
import. He was the star player in the Martin Luther High School in
1998-99 where he averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds per game as a
senior.
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