Cameron Clark — the import who replaced KJ McDaniels at NLEX last season — will be making another tour of duty in the Philippine Basketball Association.
But he will not suit up for the Road Warriors anew after he reached a deal to power San Miguel Beer in the season-ending Governors’ Cup starting 22 January.
With that, the Beermen’s original choice in Marcus Weather decided to pack his bags and move to NorthPort, sparking speculations that there was a trade among reinforcements.
Actually, the Batang Pier was looking at bringing back Jamel Artis.
Batang Pier team manager Bonnie Tan, however, admitted that they had difficulty having him signed on the dotted line so when Weathers became available, they immediately grabbed the opportunity.
Beermen team manager Gee Abanilla dismissed the rumors, saying that they just put Weathers on standby as he will reinforce them in the East Asia Super League Champions Week this March.
“There’s no such thing as trading of imports. That’s absurd,” Abanilla told Daily Tribune.
“He was supposed to be one of our imports for the EASL. But the event was pushed back so instead of sending him home, we put him on standby just in case we’ll be needing his services in between conferences.”
Weathers arrived early in the middle of the Beermen’s Commissioner’s Cup campaign that ignited reports that he will be taking over from Devon Scott.
Scott eventually stayed and helped the Beermen reached the semifinals before losing to visiting Bay Area in a best-of-five encounter.
As for Clark, he was initially reluctant to return to the PBA owing to a live contract in Uruguay.
Also, NLEX was holding his rights but when it decided to hire former National Basketball Association campaigner Jonathon Simmons, Clark’s agent sought for his release which was signed by newly-appointed team manager Larry Fonacier.
“We like Clark because we felt he’s bigger and we can maximize the 6-foot-6 height limit,” Abanilla said. “He’s not flashy, but he’s so effective and we felt we can utilize him to play along with our local players.”
