TNT Tropang Giga head coach Jojo Lastimosa landed in Sacramento with a long list of itineraries, including the search for an import for the East Asia Super League.
In a message to Daily Tribune, Lastimosa said he hooked up with his former Alaska teammate, Sean Chambers, who showed him around and introduced him to various personalities who can help him in the new season of the Philippine Basketball Association and the EASL in October.
“He’s just showing me around and introducing me to the coaches he knows in the Sacramento area,” Lastimosa said.
“But it’s also more on meeting agents as well so I can have more (import) prospects.”
Lastimosa said although Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has an offer to play in Jordan, they are still set to deploy him in the season-opening Commissioner’s Cup following his stellar stint in the Governors’ Cup early this year.
With that, all they need is one more reinforcement who can help them in the EASL, where they are grouped with Anyang KGC of South Korea, Chiba Jets of Japan and Taipei Fubon Braves of Chinese Taipei.
The other Filipino team, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, is grouped with Seoul SK Knights, Ryukyu Golden Kings and the Bay Area Dragons, whom they defeated in the finals of the previous Commissioner’s Cup.
“We already agreed on the terms,” added Lastimosa, who also works as the team manager of the Tropang Giga in a concurrent capacity.
Aside from the hunt for an EASL import, Lastimosa is also expected to be at courtside when Kai Sotto plays in the National Basketball Association Summer League in Las Vegas starting this weekend.
Sotto, who will play for the Orlando Magic, is expected to go all out in a bid to become the first full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA.
Lastimosa said he will also be observing the training camp of the Toronto Raptors since one of its assistant coaches in Jema Mahlalela is his friend during their days in the NBA Jr. Camps.
