MANILA, Philippines—NLEX decided to change its foreign reinforcement a week before the start of the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Road Warriors originally tapped former PBA import Tony Mitchell, who played for the Fubon Braves in the Taiwan Super Basketball League, but elected to go with Curtis Washington for the conference instead.
According to the team, they expected to have Mitchell after the Braves won the SBL title in early May but the import failed to report to NLEX in time.
“We’ve been waiting since they won their championship in Taipei but for one reason or another, he cannot make it,” said head coach Yeng Guiao. “We’re losing time so we decided to select another import.”
Mitchell served as former import for Magnolia in 2017 where the Hotshots finished 9-2 record before losing to eventual champion San Miguel in the semifinals.
Washington is a 6-foot-10 bruiser and averaged 31 points and 19 rebounds in the Bahrain Premier League with Al-Nuwaidrat.
“Washington was immediately available and we’ve been considering him for a while as part of our short list while waiting for Mitchell,” said Guiao. “He’s also in good shape because he’s also actively playing based and based on the films, I think he’ll be a natural fit for our team.”
Washington is expected to arrive early on Saturday and join the Road Warriors for a light practice.