TNT Tropang Giga is bringing in a European circuit veteran in a bid to make one last push in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Matt Mobley, a veteran of the German League, flew in over the weekend to replace Cameron Oliver who suffered a sprained knee prior to the Tropang Giga game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Oliver, in fact, was in street clothes as the Kings edged the Tropang Giga, 89-85, in the crucial stretch of this midseason conference.
TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa said Mobley may be small at 6-foot-3, but they expect a lot of energy from him in this tourney where the maximum height is set at 6-foot-10.
“He arrived Sunday afternoon from his stint in Germany,” Lastimosa said, referring to the 28-year-old former St. Bonaventure and Central Connecticut star whose last stint was with Ratiopharm Ulm in the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.
“He’s small than the rest of the import as he stands only 6-foot-3.”
Tough battle awaits Mobley.
With the Tropang Giga at the ninth spot with a 4-6 record, they will bank on Mobley’s firepower when they battle powerhouse Bay Area on 23 November and San Miguel Beer on 26 November.
He is coming off a stellar German campaign in which he posted 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Prior to Germany, Mobley was also a Points per Game awardee and a member of the Pro Basketball League when he saw action for Spirou in Belgium.
Although he is allowed to see action in the season-ending Governors’ Cup, where the height limit is set at 6-foot-6, Lastimosa stressed that Mobley still has to prove his worth.
“He’s not locked in for the Governors’ Cup,” he said.
