Thomas Robinson #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a Laker foul during the second half of a 107-101 Utah Jazz win at Staples Center on December 5, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines-San Miguel Beer will bank on former NBA first round draft pick Thomas Robinson to bolster its bid for a serious run at the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown.
The Beermen confirmed on Friday that Robinson has agreed to reinforce the team for the midseason tournament which returns after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Team manager Gee Abanilla told the Inquirer that Robinson is scheduled to arrive in the second week of September due to the death of his father.
The Commissioner’s Cup opens on September 21, but San Miguel is expected to begin its campaign late due after advancing in the ongoing Philippine Cup Finals against TNT.
Robinson was selected fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2012 NBA Draft but only lasted 51 games and was traded to the Houston Rockets at midseason.
The former Kansas Jayhawk would bounce around four more NBA teams, namely the Portland Trail Blazers (2013-2015), Philadelphia 76ers (2014-15 season), Brooklyn Nets (2015-16 season) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2016-17 season).
He posted career NBA averages of 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 313 games.
Listed at 6-foot-10, Robinson also played abroad for Russian club Khimki, Chinese Basketball Association side Beikong Fly Dragons, Turkish team Bahçeşehir Kolejim, Puerto Rico’s Cangrejeros de Santurce and Piratas de Quebradillas and the Korean Basketball League’s Samsung Thunders.