Alaska, Ginebra to renew rivalry

MANILA, Philippines - If Alaska’s Robert Dozier and Ginebra San Miguel’s Vernon Macklin provided a clash of titans in the recent PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, their teams are expected to relive the highly physical duel with wide-bodied imports in the Governors Cup starting Aug. 14.

Alaska coach Luigi Trillo confirmed the other day the Aces will bring in 6-5, 227-pound Wendell McKines of New Mexico State while Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua said the Barangay has signed up 6-5, 229-pound Dior Lowhorn of the University of San Francisco. Both McKines and Lowhorn are inside-outside power operators who play multiple positions. They’re two of a kind. Unlike Dozier and Macklin who rarely faced off one-on-one, McKines and Lowhorn will likely lock horns because they’re made for each other.

“It’s probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make as a coach,” said Trillo referring to the choice between McKines and former import Jason Forte. “I love Jason, he’s a class act. Wendell is an 80 percent free throw shooter, totally different from Robert (Dozier) and had better numbers than (Jamelle) Cornley in France. He plays with passion like Calvin (Abueva) and will do very well here. He’s built like a tank.”

Chua said Lowhorn is an immovable force on the court. Listed at 6-7 in US scouting reports, Lowhorn was measured to be less than 6-5 in an unofficial sizing at the PBA office during a recent visit to Manila while playing for the Saigon Heat in the ABL. San Miguel Corp. director of sports Noli Eala said Lowhorn is a player who won’t be pushed around, not even by an Asi Taulava.

The height limit for imports in the Governors Cup is 6-5. The format will feature a single round-robin eliminations after which the last two placers are struck out. The top four gain a twice-to-beat advantage over the next four in the first stage of playoffs with No. 1 against No. 8, No. 2 against No. 7, No. 3 against No. 6 and No. 4 against No. 5. The winners battle in two best-of-five semifinal series with the survivors advancing to the best-of-seven Finals.

Talk ‘N’ Text has Tony Mitchell as its first option but isn’t ruling out picking another import. Rain Or Shine has released Cornley, who led the Painters to the Governors Cup crown last season, and may opt for Arizona Reid. Globalport coach Junel Baculi said recently he is considering to pick up Cornley but team manager B. J. Manalo reported that no decision will be made until a possible scouting trip to the US. Air 21 will likely bring back Zach Graham and San Mig Coffee will also return Marqus Blakely. Meralco is leaning towards recalling Mario West. Barako Bull is now testing Mike Singletary at the second Al Shabab Invitational Tournament in Dubai and the Texas Tech forward appears to be a perfect fit for the Energy Cola. Petron has four candidates, including NBA veteran Othyus Jeffers of Robert Morris University, in its list.

Lowhorn, 26, finished his varsity career No. 4 on the all-time University of San Francisco scoring ladder with 1,773 of his 2,003 points. He matched Bill Russell’s San Francisco record of the fastest pace to reach 1,000 points in 49 games. Lowhorn played under Hall of Fame coaches Bobby Knight at Texas Tech and Eddie Sutton at San Francisco. A concern is Lowhorn never played on a college team with a winning record in four years.

From San Francisco, Lowhorn played as an import in Belgium, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Venezuela before winding up with the Saigon Heat in the ABL where he averaged a league-high 26.7 points and 8.4 rebounds this season. Lowhorn suffered an injury that sidelined him with six games in Saigon’s schedule but Eala said he’s been cleared to play.

“It was just a slight injury I was told,” said Eala. “His agent wrote a few days ago to confirm Dior is well and eager to fly in as soon as possible.” Chua said Lowhorn will add strength to Ginebra’s frontline.

“No one’s going to outwork Dior,” said his former San Francisco coach Jesse Evans. “He can play inside and out, he’s got long arms and he’s just a force inside. He’s very capable of defending inside. He should touch the ball every time down the floor. It’s always a good thing when your best players are your hardest workers.” Coach Rex Walters, whom Lowhorn also played for at San Francisco, said, “Dior is talented, he can shoot the basketball, he can post up, he can face up and do some things off the dribble.” On offense which Ginebra thrives in, Lowhorn is a bomb waiting to explode.

College basketball writer Paul Arnett said McKines “can bang with the best of them” and is “an inside-outside player.” He finished No. 18 in the NCAA rebounding list with 10 a game in 2008-09. Unlike Lowhorn, McKines played for teams with a winning record in each of his four varsity seasons. As a senior in 2011-12, he averaged 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds as the Aggies posted a 26-10 mark, losing to Indiana 79-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. McKines shot .506 from the floor and .760 from the line.

In the French league this season, McKines averaged 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in 34 games with Rouen Basket. He shot .611 from two-point distance, .348 from triple range and .793 from the stripe. Last March, he compiled 25 points and 11 rebounds in 42 minutes as Rouen Basket tripped Le Portel, 102-94. In that game, McKines hit 8-of-10 two-point field goals, 2-of-5 treys and 3-of-3 free throws.