INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines?Jamal Wesley Sampson, the new American reinforcement of the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas development team, is to flash his wares in the Philippine Basketball Association starting Friday.

The 6-foot-11 NBA veteran signed a one-year deal with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas over the weekend, SBP executive director Noli Eala said.

Financial terms were not disclosed but Eala said Sampson will have the same benefits and privileges enjoyed by CJ Giles, the first American prospect of Smart Gilas who was kicked out of the team last month for failing to meet SBP expectations.

Sampson is a University of California-Berkeley alumnus who played for five NBA clubs.

?Jamal?s maturity, size and skills are what we need in our quest,? said SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan in a statement.

Sampson will go through the process of naturalization to reinforce Smart Gilas, which will represent the country in the 2010 Asian Games and the 2011 Fiba Asia championship.

?Jamal?s signing with Smart Gilas has improved our competitiveness,? said SBP vice chair Ricky Vargas.

Eala said Sampson was about to sign a lucrative $55,000 monthly deal with a Chinese ballclub in Fujian when the SBP snatched him through agent Chris Emmens, the same player-agent who brought in Giles.