Of course, you remember Briggs — the red-haired, freckled, long-range bomber who looked a bit like Boston Celtics guard Dennis Johnson. He’s in the PBA record books for scoring 89 points in a single game on Nov. 12, 1989. The outburst included 10 triples. Briggs is also in the books for scoring 84, 81, 77, 75, 71 twice, 70, 68, 67, and 64 twice. Those were the days when offense was everything and defense meant little in the PBA.
Believe it or not, Briggs averaged 62.1 points in 24 games for Añejo Rum in 1989 — the first of his two seasons in the PBA. He shot 30.3 percent from three-point range and 79.6 percent from the line. Briggs took Añejo to the Third Conference Finals but alas, it was San Miguel Beer that bagged the crown via a 4-1 series win. The next year, Briggs returned for a short-lived, forgettable encore. He was cut after hitting at a 42-point clip in only three games for Añejo — Briggs was too individualistic for comfort.
The 5-11, 185-pound Briggs saw action for Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan, before playing a year for Baylor University, an NCAA Division I school in Texas. Schoolcraft is the same junior college that produced Swift’s Fil-Am forward Rudy Hatfield who went on to star at the University of Michigan at Dearborn before coming here. Briggs, whose nickname is Red for his unusual hair color, was kicked out of Baylor for disciplinary reasons and wound up in the PBA.
Briggs, a Boston native, is back at Schoolcraft as the Ocelots varsity coach. And he’s made quite an impact on the bench. Last season, Briggs piloted the varsity to a 32-4 record, its best ever, and took every conceivable Coach of the Year award — he was cited by the Michigan Community College Athletic Association, the state league, Region XII, and Districts XII and XIII.
Briggs, 37, can still shoot the ball. Lim said he saw him launch those long howitzers at the Schoolcraft gym where former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Earl Cureton assembled players for a practice game one night.
Cureton, the Los Angeles Stars assistant coach in the American Basketball Association (ABA), keeps in close contact with Lim and is reliable import tracker. Cureton asked former Golden State and San Antonio forward Brandon Williams of Davidson University to try out. Williams was born in Callinston, Louisiana, and has lived the last five years in Detroit.
Ex-PBA import Rodney Monroe, now playing in Italy, sent two up-and-coming starts from Nashville to Cureton’s camp. Monroe is another of Lim’s contacts. Even Ira Newble, an NBA veteran who’ll never pass the 6-4 height limit, showed up — perhaps, to leave an impression as a candidate for next year’s Commissioner’s Cup.
Lim said NBA guard Howard Eisley, who was recently traded by Dallas to New York, was also at the Schoolcraft gym. He worked out in the morning. Cureton scheduled the practice game at night.
Lim noted that former University of Michigan star Jimmy King showed up but he didn’t play in Cureton’s scrimmage because of an out-of-town commitment.
Aside from Briggs, another ex-import whom Lim met in Detroit was Terry Duerod who now sports a bulging paunch. And Jerod Ward, who was cut by Mobiline in the Commissioner’s Cup this year, made a surprising appearance to shoot hoops at Schoolcraft when Lim and Alas were there. Ward was unceremoniously waived by Mobiline for playing out of control.
"We had a nice time chatting with Carlos," related Lim. "He’s still a bachelor. I told him the actress whom he dated here might still be available. He seemed interested."
Detroit was the second stop in the whirlwind scouting trip. Earlier, Lim and Alas went to Los Angeles where Filipino import recruiter Chiqui de la Rosa set up a pair of scrimmages for prospects. Two players flew in from Utah to display their wares. Shannon Taylor and Kendrick Brooks played, too. But Lim said none was better than Williams.
Lim and Alas left Manila for the US last Aug. 10 — two days after Mobiline team owner Manny Pangilinan gave the go-signal for them to personally scout the Phone Pals’ Governors Cup import. It was a hectic trip. They were back home last Aug. 20. And a week later, their choice — Williams — landed at the NAIA.