Swaggy P open to play in PBA

MANILA, Philippines — The man called Swaggy P said yesterday he’s open to play in the PBA Governors Cup where the import height limit is under 6-6. Nick Young, a 12-year NBA veteran who won a championship ring with the Golden State Warriors in 2018, is in town training for The Strong Group booked to play in the 10-team 32nd Dubai International Basketball Championships on Jan. 27-Feb. 5.

Young, 37, joins two other NBA first round draft picks Renaldo Balkman (New York, 2006) and Shabazz Muhammad (Utah, 2013), naturalized player Ange Kouame, Justine Baltazar, Mai-Mai Cagulangan, Sedrick Barefield, Lebron Lopez, Jerom Lastimosa, BJ Andrade, Inand Fornillos, Will Gozum and Migs Oczon on the Philippine squad coached by Charles Tiu. The Lao family-owned Strong Group is a realty company involved in resort and hotel development with projects in Siargao, Palawan, Cebu and Maasin, Southern Leyte.

Young said he stands 6-6 on his bare feet and might just make the PBA ceiling of 6-5 15/16. Washington’s 2007 first round draft choice never played in Asia although he almost did in China but left after staying holed up in a hotel for 28 days when the pandemic struck. The Governors Cup reels off on Sunday and if Young is recruited and passes the height test, it’ll be after the Dubai competition as a replacement import. “If the opportunity comes, I’ll play in the PBA,” said Young. “Since arriving in Manila, I’ve felt the love of the Filipinos. I know how much the people love basketball. I’m honestly surprised how it seems everybody recognizes me. One request for a photo quickly becomes 10 and so on. I watched Game 7 on TV and I would love to play before a crowd of 54,000.”

Young’s NBA teammates included Jordan Clarkson, Andray Blatche, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, Chris Paul and Nikola Jokic. He singled out Bryant as the player who most influenced his game. “I’ve played with Clarkson and I’d like to think he picked up a few things from me about making buckets,” he said. “I was a rookie while Blatche had already played two seasons with Washington when I joined. We still stay in touch.”

Tiu coached Mighty Sports to the Jones Cup title in 2019 and the Dubai crown in 2020 with Balkman as his anchor. When the invitation came to return to Dubai, Tiu’s first recruit was Balkman. “Balk’s my lucky charm, my guy ever since” he said. “Nick found a way to connect with him and wanted to come. Then, I remembered what Shabazz did to us at Meralco so I reached out to him. Those three guys are walking buckets. I won’t have a problem with offense but I’m worried about our size. We’re playing against big guys from Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia. I’m hoping Justine can stay with us ‘til the end of the tournament but there’s a chance he might be called to Korea. This will be challenging, probably the toughest Dubai competition yet.”