Zach Lofton is expected to serve as a temporary replacement for injured Sulaiman Braimoh as Meralco import in the Commissioner’s Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Sources said the Meralco management is flirting with the idea of activating the smaller Lofton for the meantime after Braimoh crashed with an Achilles injury during their 97-74 win over NLEX last Sunday.
Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo made the confirmation to Daily Tribune, saying that the 34-year-old Nigerian-American star underwent surgery on Tuesday.
“He underwent surgery (Tuesday) because of a torn Achilles and we’re still waiting for his replacement,” said Trillo, refusing to disclose the name of their new import.
The 6-foot-8 Braimoh had provided the Bolts a solid interior presence.
In five games, Braimoh averaged 32.8 points, 12 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game while leading the Bolts to four wins in their first five matches.
Sources said the Bolts are looking at a big import who can fill the huge void created by Braimoh’s absence.
One of their imports in the East Asia Super League in Prince Ibeh was considered but Bolts head coach Luigi Trillo said he will exceed the prescribed 6-foot-9 height limit as he is listed as 6-foot-10.
With that, they will settle for Lofton, an energetic 6-foot-4 guard who dropped 35 points for Meralco against former National Basketball Association standout Jeremy Lin and the New Taipei Kings at the New Taipei Xinzhuang Gymnasium last week.
