Patriots tap Former PBA Import

MANILA, Philippines — A former PBA import and a European veteran will reinforce the Philippine Patriots in their bid to win back-to-back titles in the AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League which begins next month.

Former Sta Lucia import Anthony Johnson and Donald Little will spearhead the Patriots campaign when they open their campaign against the Brunei Barracudas on Oct. 3 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

ABL Best Import Jason Dixon and two-time PBA Best Import Gabe Freeman led the team to the championship at the expense of Indonesia's Satria Muda BritAma. Before being replaced by Freeman, Brandon Powell played a number of games for the team.

Team manager Erick Arejola said that Little is due to arrive today while Johnson is expected to arrive next week since he’s with his ailing father.

Johnson is no stranger to local basketball shores having played in the PBA for a number of years.

Little is not a prolific scorer like Johnson but at 6-foot-11, he’s expected to man the middle for the squad co-owned by Mikee Romero and Tony Boy Cojuangco.

In his last PBA stint, the 6-foot-6 Johnson averaged 29.2 points, 13.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 blocks for the Realtors, who bowed to the Coca-Cola Tigers in the wild card phase of the Fiesta Conference. He also had a stint with the Tigers in 2007.

Apart from his rebounding prowess, Little is known for his shot-blocking ability.

Little played for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 1998-2002 and was a former teammate of current Denver Nuggets big man Kenyon Martin. He averaged 5.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 101 career games.

After his stint in the US NCAA, he played for Dynamo Moscow in Russia, J.D.A Dijon in France, Galatasaray Istanbul in Turkey, Sonic Boom KT and Anyang KT&G Kites in Korea and Lechugueros de Leon in Mexico.

“We have seen how good Johnson is, but we hope Little will live up to his resume,” said Romero. “We need a tall and agile center, hopefully Little will be up to the task ahead.”

Freeman, who recently finished his stint with runner-up San Miguel in the previous PBA tournament, will play in Australia while Dixon has a previous commitment.

The Patriots will finalize their roster next week and is expected to field a brand-new roster in hopes of retaining the title.

Jonas Terrado, Manila Bulletin