FILE – Ginebra turned Magnolia import Vernon Macklin. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Old reinforcements return for the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, albeit this time, most of them will be suiting up for another squad.
Of the six returnees this conference, only former Best Import awardee Arinze Onuaku of Meralco and Malcolm White of GlobalPort are staying put.
Vernon Macklin, who previously suited up for Ginebra, will now be playing for its rival Magnolia in the second conference.
Jarrid Famous also makes his comeback as he joins Blackwater in his third foray in the league.
Longtime Kia import James White has been tapped by Phoenix, while former Alaska reinforcement Shane Edwards will don the Ginebra jersey while it waits for first-choice Justin Brownlee.
That doesn’t mean, though, there won’t be fresh faces for the first of the two import-laden conferences.
San Miguel signed up 29-year-old center Troy Gillenwater, who previously suited up for Mighty Sports-Philippines in the 2016 Jones Cup.
Burly big man Reggie Johnson will also bolster the Rain or Shine frontline after playing for Mono Vampire in Thailand.
Kia will entrust its future on 27-year-old CJ Aiken, who had stints in the NBA D-League and saw action in Poland and Canada.
Legitimate NBA-caliber talents are also hitting the Philippine shores.
Ex-Philadelphia 76er Arnett Moultrie will man the paint for NLEX in the second conference, while TNT has tapped Jeremy Tyler, who had stints with the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, and the New York Knicks before taking his talents to China and Australia.
Alaska is the lone team which has yet to introduce an import for the second conference.