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MANILA, Philippines – It won’t just be former Ateneo standout Ange Kouame bolstering the Rain or Shine crew in the 42nd William Jones Cup in Taipei.
Nick Evans, a veteran American big man who had stints in Japan, Thailand, Colombia, and Lebanon, will banner the team’s frontline along with Kouame, already a naturalized Philippine player, in the August 12-20 meet.
“When we saw the lineup of the teams competing, it’s a strong competition. So management decided to bring in another import,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao in the PSA Forum on Tuesday, August 1.
“We will have Ange Kouame and Nick Evans, who’s coming in maybe by Saturday or Sunday to join us.”
Admitting his team lacks size, the presence of Evans and Kouame, who both stand at 6-foot-10, will definitely come in handy for the Elasto Painters, said Guiao.
A total of nine teams will see action in this year’s Jones Cup, which is returning after a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Guaio said the national teams of Iran, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Taipei (Teams A and B) are among the expected contenders.
The Japan U-20 team, a US team represented by the University of California-Irvine, and reigning Korean Basketball League (KBL) and East Asia Super League (EASL) champion Anyang KGC, bannered by former NBA player Omari Spellman, round out the field.
“We’ll see, maybe we’ll be able to compete. [But] we’ll represent the country the best way we can,” said Guiao, the former Gilas Pilipinas coach.
Represented by Mighty Sports, the Philippines won two of the last four editions of the annual meet prior to the pandemic, including its last staging in 2019 behind a team backstopped by imports Eugene Phelps, Renaldo Balkman, and McKenzie Moore, along with Fil-Ams Jeremiah Gray, Jason Brickman, and Roosevelt Adams.
“The tough thing about this is there’s pressure because our previous teams, before the pandemic, were champions. But they had five imports,” said Guiao.
“So ours now, it’s an organic team. There’s a big difference between a team with five imports and an organic team like ours.” – Rappler.com
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