Ginebra replaces injured import

Barangay Ginebra was forced to find a new import even before the PBA Fiesta Cup fires off Feb. 22 as original choice Jarmaine Walker sustained a knee injury in a pickup game back in the United States before his scheduled departure for the Philippines last Monday.

But Ginebra didn’t have a hard time looking for a replacement in former Texas Christian University standout Bingo Merriex who has just finished his commitment with the Blue Stars ballclub in the Lebanon league.

Merriex, who made a reputation as a versatile offensive player with TCU, is to fly in from Lebanon tomorrow, according to his agent Mike Gonzalez of AMG Sports.

The list of imports strutting their stuffs in the PBA transition tourney was completed with Alaska Milk signing up CBA All-Star player Galen Young and Talk n Text enlisting former San Diego State mainstay and Atlanta Hawks draftee Randy Holcomb.

Alaska coach Tim Cone personally picked Young on his US trip. The whole Talk n Text team, meanwhile, traveled to the US and played with Holcomb in a pair of tune-up games against a selection of ex-pros assembled for Bill Bayno. The Phone Pals lost by two in the first game and won by five in the next tiff, according to team manager Frankie Lim.

"Bingo possesses a great combination of inside and outside game. It’s rare to find a player with Bingo’s size that can play on the perimeter like he can. Bingo’s shooting range extends beyond the NBA three-point line. He has an NBA style game that he can run the floor, jump, handle the ball and shoot all at 6-9," the Eurobasket report card on Merriex says.

"He also has an arrays of move with his back to the basket which gives him versatility most players do not have. Defensively, Bingo has the ability to guard a three (small forward) or four (power forward) and his long arms give offensive players trouble," the report card also says.

Before playing in Lebanon, Merriex, 23, saw action for the Texas Rim Rockers in the USBL, averaging 17.8 points (seventh best in the league) and 8.2 rebounds. He shot 47 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from beyond the arc.

At TCU, Merriex averaged 12.6 points and 7.5 rebounds. He converted a total of 41 three-pointers in his entire stint in the school.

Merriex also suited up for a US touring team in Australia, scoring 49 points against the Sydney Kings and 32 versus the Wollongong Hawks.

"Impressive ang numbers niya but, of course, we’ll look at him first (before deciding whether to keep him for the duration of the tourney)," said Ginebra coach Allan Caidic.

If Merriex turns out to be a lemon, Caidic said they would tap in Tony Lang who is still playing with the Mitsubishi Dolphins team in the Japanese league. Lang won’t be available to come here till mid March.