PBA: Beermen choose Jones over Boone

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – San Miguel Beermen head coach Biboy Ravanes as well as active consultant Todd Purves both confirmed to Rappler that their American import Josh Boone has been released Monday morning, March 10.

They will be taking on a new import in Kevin Jones, who was just recently released from the NBA Development League or D-League.

“Josh Boone has been notified this morning that Kevin Jones will be replacing him in the Beermen squad,” Purves said in a phone interview.

Purves elaborated the reasons behind their decision to switch to Jones, saying that it was a collective decision between the coaching staff and the management.

“It certainly wasn’t based on anything just over last night,” Purves said, referring to Boone’s 32-point output that helped the Beermen trample Barangay Ginebra.

“But we had to make some very difficult decisions that is going to make our team better. We tried to look at the big picture. We feel that Kevin Jones gives us a wonderful opportunity to compete at a high level.”

He cited the difference between Jones and Boone’s style of plays.

“Jones has a little bit larger offensive repertoire. Jones can play both on the perimeter and on the block,” he explained. “He’s a very versatile player. I think Kevin Jones has a lot of versatility to his game, which can give us different options to use. Whereas Josh Boone is more of an inside presence in the paint.”

Boone, 29, stayed on with the Beermen for two games and performed well despite the uncertainty of his status with the team.

“From the moment he stepped off the plane here in Manila he has been professional,” Purves said of Boone.

“He’s shown a lot of integrity despite the fact that it has been a bit of an adverse situation for him this weekend. He performed admirably and everybody in our locker room really tips their hat to him.”

@kevjones5 good luck to you out here man…continue what we started this year. Ur teammates will have ur back for sure, they r a great group

— Josh Boone (@The_Real_JBizzy) March 10, 2014

Against Meralco, Boone put up 16 points and 16 rebounds. The first round NBA Draft pick in 2006 doubled his offensive output in the Beermen’s second game against Barangay Ginebra on Monday, March 10. He made a case for himself to stay with 32 points on 13-of-19 field goals. He also grabbed 21 rebounds.

After Sunday night’s game, Purves stated the entire management together with the coaching staff would deliberate on the direction the team would take as far as their import is concerned.

They eventually decided that Jones would be a better fit for the Beermen in the long run, taking into consideration sophomore bigman June Mar Fajardo, who has not played for the Beermen so far this conference due to an ankle sprain.

Fajardo, Purves said, is a big factor in their decision regarding their choice of import.

“Kevin Jones is going to be a great compliment to June Mar and vice versa. I think that’s going to be a good fit,” Purves explained, adding that Fajardo will be practicing with San Miguel again on Tuesday, March 11.

No decision prior to conference

Even before San Miguel played its first game against the Meralco Bolts on Friday, March 7, there have been reports that the team had already decided on replacing Boone. But Purves clarified that wasn’t the case.

“Before the start of the conference I don’t think there was a decision to change. We evaluated it through practices and through tune-up games,” he said.

“It wasn’t something Josh Boone had done. It was the fact that Kevin Jones became available.”

Purves said they had anticipated Jones being called up to the NBA after putting up great numbers in the D-League recently with the Canton Charge.

In 5 games since February 21, Jones averaged 24.4 points and 13.6 rebounds, per nbadleague.com.

“Basically, he gave us an opportunity that we thought we couldn’t pass up on,” Purves said.

Not Boone’s fault

Purves didn’t reveal his personal choice over the two imports, saying that his advice or counsel to the management will stay in-house.

But he did stress that Boone was not at fault.

“It really speaks to how highly we think of Kevin Jones. We think the world of him,” he explained. “Josh Boone did a really great job for us, he showed a lot of heart. And for us to make that decision says more about Kevin Jones than it does about Josh.”

Jones, 24, is already in Manila according to Purves and he’ll be present for the Beermen’s next game on Friday, March 14 against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.

Boone, on the other hand, is still in Manila but will soon be flying back to the US where he “can continue his career.” Purves said Boone will “have a number of opportunities to play overseas.”

The Beermen’s official statement on the decision reads: “We would like to thank Josh for his effort and professionalism. He showed a lot of heart while wering a Beermen uniform. We look forward to enjoying Josh’s future success as he will always be a member of the Beermen Family.” – Rappler.com