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| Former IBL champion and Gilas opponent Brandone Francis is suiting up for Phoenix. IBL (file photo) |
MANILA--Phoenix finally gets a replacement for Jay McKinnis after agreeing in terms with Brandone Francis as its import for the PBA Governors' Cup.
Francis is no longer new to Southeast Asian basketball.
He has been a longtime import for Prawira Bandung in the IBL, helping the club win the title last year.
However, they were dethroned by current Ginebra import Justin Brownlee and Pelita Jaya in the semifinals this year, and the team eventually became the new champion.
Francis may also be familiar with some of the PBA's current young guns as the now 29-year-old Dominican guard played Gilas Pilipinas in the 2021 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia.
Francis finished with five points, two assists, and one steal in the Dominican Republic's 94-67 rout of Gilas that knocked the Filipinos out of OQT contention that year.
Current Gin Kings RJ Abarrientos and Isaac Go, Converge FiberXer Mike Nieto, NorthPort Batang Pier William Navarro, and Pampanga Giant Lantern Justine Baltazar, who will join the FiberXers next conference right after his MPBL campaign, make up the Gilas players that time who are pursuing their pro careers domestically right now.
Francis also played for the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers, scoring eight points, two rebounds, and one steal against the US Virgin Islands during their second meeting, but did not make the Karl-Anthony Towns-led World Cup team.
Listed by FIBA during the WCQ at six-feet-four and in other platforms at six-feet-five, Francis is expected to make the six-foot-six height limit for the PBA Governors' Cup as the Fuel Masters move on from Le'Bryan Nash, the initial McKinnis replacement who went over the cut by a whisker.
Once cleared, Francis will debut on Tuesday night when Phoenix, still seeking its first win, battles Blackwater at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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