Ex-Piston to boost Magnolia Hotshots bid

MANILA, Philippines — PBA Philippine Cup losing finalist Magnolia is confident it would remain a title contender with Vernon Macklin as import in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup slated to start on April 22 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“He’s a good fit for our team and for our system,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero of the former Detroit Piston who had a previous PBA stint with the Barangay Ginebra Kings in 2013.

“He’s a disciplined player on defense and he shares the ball as what our team does offensively. And he provides an inside presence that we badly need,” Victolero also said.

The Hotshots narrowly missed the Commissioner’s Cup Finals last year with bull-strong import Ricardo Ratliffe in tow.

Magnolia tried to bring back Ratliffe but the player politely begged off as he’s now tied up with the Korean national team as a naturalized player.

Ratliffe instead recommended Macklin.

“Macklin is highly recommended by Ratliffe as Macklin had a good showing in the Korean league,” said Victolero.

Macklin is an early bird, arriving in the country before Game Three of the recent all-Filipino finals between Magnolia and San Miguel Beer.

“He joined us in our walkthroughs then, and is now working with our trainer while the team is still on vacation,” said Victolero.

The Hotshots will be back in training camp on Friday. They play their first game in the Commissioner’s Cup on May 6.

Even with Marc Pingris out for the season, Victolero is optimistic he has a rotation that can compete with any team.

But Victolero points to San Miguel Beer as still the outstanding favorite, and considers Barangay Ginebra, TNT KaTropa and Meralco as the other top contenders.

Arinze Onuaku (Meralco), Malcolm White (GlobalPort), Shane Edwards (Ginebra), Jarrid Famous (Blackwater) and James White (Phoenix) are five other import returnees while TNT’s Jeremy Tyler, Alaska Milk’s Antonio Campbell, NLEX’s Arnett Moultrie, Rain or Shine’s Reggie Johnson, San Miguel’s Troy Gillenwater and Columbian Dyip’s CJ Aiken are the newcomers.

Justin Brownlee, Ginebra’s import in the Commissioner’s Cup and the Governors’ Cup last year, is likely to take over from Edwards upon the completion of his tenure with Alab Pilipinas in the Asean Basketball League.

In a tune-up yesterday at the Upper Deck Gym, Edwards and the Kings came from behind to disappoint the Texters, 100-98.

Edwards threw down a go-ahead jam to complete Ginebra’s come-from-behind triumph.

In 2015-16 Commissioner’s Cup, Edwards averaged 22.1 points and 11.9 rebounds with the Alaska Milk Aces.