Charles Rhodes wants crown back

Pnoto by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

San Miguel Beer is leaving nothing to chance, tapping the services of American Charles Rhodes anew in a bid to regain the PBA Commissioner’s Cup from the clutches of its sister team, Barangay Ginebra.

“I’ve always wanted to come back,” said Rhodes, who was an essential cog in San Miguel’s championship run in the midseason conference in 2017. “It just feels like my second home.”

Rhodes, who averaged averaged 28.4 points and 10.5 boards during that stint, revealed that he actually mulled rejoining San Miguel the previous season, but something more important cropped up.

“I had a daughter,” he said with a smile. “I just had to be home for her and my wife.”

Without Rhodes, San Miguel had to opt for its old reliable from its sister team at the Asean Basketball League, NBA-tested Renaldo Balkman.

The Beermen lost the title to the Gin Kings in six games.

Rhodes, who is set to join a newer cast this season, expressed his excitement playing alongside the likes of spitfire guard Terrence Romeo and versatile forward Christian Standhardinger among others.

Rhodes said his biggest motivation will be making up for not being able to help San Miguel defend its crown last year.

“I’m pissed off and I’m gonna use that on the court and I will just give everything I got on the court to make sure I [get back] my crown,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ben Simmons is set to play for Australia at the Fiba World Cup after confirming in an online video “I’m going to be a Boomer” for upcoming events.

Simmons’ NBA season ended when his Philadelphia 76ers were knocked out of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7-ending buzzer-beater for Toronto.

The NBA All-Star told his fans to stay tuned about upcoming events in the video he posted on Twitter but he later confirmed on Weibo, the Chinese social media channel, that he was “looking forward to representing my country Australia” in the World Cup. He’s likely to join the likes of Patty Mills, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova in Australia’s squad for the World Cup, which starts on Aug. 31 in China. —WITH A REPORT FROM AP