In NBA history, there have been 12 former PBA imports who wore the Boston Celtics uniform.
They were Glenn McDonald, Carlos Clark, Kevin Gamble, Terry Duerod, Kenny Battle, Ronnie Grandison, Tony (Hurricane) Harris, Earl Tatum, David Thirdkill, Kelvin Uphsaw, Larry Robinson and Rick Brunson.
Four of the 12 were featured in a book entitled “Boston Celtics – Where Have You Gone” by Mike Carrey and Michael McClellan. McDonald, Clark, Gamble and Duerod were among 26 former “Men in Green” who were profiled in the 183-page book.
The most prominent Celtic veteran who played in the PBA was McDonald who still has lots of Filipino friends in Manila. A few years ago, he and his wife Renee were guests of Rajan Sadhwani and his family at their Bel-Air Village residence.
McDonald, 56, played two seasons for the Celtics and will forever be remembered for his clutch shooting in the third overtime of Boston’s 128-126 win over Phoenix in Game 5 of the 1976 Finals.
With Paul Silas the fourth Celtic player to foul out, Boston coach Tommy Heinsohn tapped the seldom-used McDonald instead of the more experienced Steve Kuberski to check in, time down to less than two minutes in the third extension.
McDonald rose to the occasion. With 1:35 to go, he hit a lay-up as the Celtics surged ahead, 120-118. Then, McDonald sank a 10-foot jumper from a John Havlicek pass to stretch the lead to four. As time ran out, McDonald grabbed a defensive rebound, was fouled and knocked down two foul shots to close out the scoring.
Boston went on to win the NBA title in six games. McDonald, ironically, wasn’t invited back to the Celtics camp the next season and played briefly for Milwaukee before embarking on a long overseas tour that started in Sweden and wound up in Manila.
“I discovered the PBA was a very competitive league,” said McDonald. “My wife and I enjoyed living there, so we just kept going back – for eight seasons.” McDonald played and coached for U-Tex from 1978 to 1982 then Sunkist in 1983.
McDonald later coached at his alma mater Long Beach State where he is now director of intramurals. He was Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper’s top assistant when the team won back-to-back WNBA crowns in 2001 and 2002.
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Clark, 47, played for Alaska in the 1990 First Conference. A southpaw, Clark was the Celtics’ fourth round pick in the 1983 draft. He was on the Boston roster for two seasons and a teammate was now Celtics general manager Danny Ainge.
After his NBA career, Clark logged nine years as an import in Belgium and appeared in a PBA conference. The 6-4 Mississippi star is now coaching at Seacrest High, a small private school in Naples, Florida, where he lives with wife Barbara and their 12-year-old son Deion.
Clark’s dream is to someday coach in the NBA. “I talked to a lot of coaches and general managers about just becoming a part-time scout or even a volunteer scout,” he said. I think I’m pretty good at evaluating talent. All I want is an opportunity to prove I could help a team. If I get a chance, I have enough confidence to know I can do a good job.”
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Gamble, 42, saw action for Anejo Rhum in the 1988 Reinforced Conference. He played six years for the Celtics. In four of the six seasons, Gamble averaged in double figures.
Today, Gamble is the head coach at the University of Illinois at Springfield, the owner of an Athlete’s Foot franchise and the driving force of a real estate venture aimed at revitalizing the inner city in his hometown, wrote Carey and McClellan. Gamble owns several commercial buildings, which he leases out in Springfield.
Gamble recalled that when he was cut by Milwaukee before the start of the 1988-89 season, he signed to play in the PBA for a month. Then, Gamble returned to play in the CBA and finally, the Celtics.
“I’ll always be a Boston Celtic,” said Gamble. “I remember before games, Red (Auerbach) would come into the locker room and talk about the days when he coached. Those were special times. For Red to take the time to talk to you, it showed you how much he cared about us as players.”
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Duerod, 51, played for Ginebra in the 1986 Reinforced Conference. The long-shooting guard’s Celtic teammates included Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Cedric Maxwell, Tiny Archibald, M. L. Carr and Gerald Henderson. His proudest moment was playing on the Celtics team that won the NBA title in 1981. Duerod ended his pro career in the PBA.
“After the PBA, my wife Rosemary and I decided to go back to Detroit,” said Duerod. “I enjoyed being overseas but all the travel and cultural differences get to you. It was just time to settle down.”
In 1987, Duerod joined the Detroit fire brigade as an engineer, driving a truck and controlling the water pressure when a fire breaks out. He still works in the force and plays in the Detroit firefighters basketball league.