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| Former NBA first-round pick Justin Patton is San Miguel's new import. |
MANILA--An explosive performance was still not enough for Marcus Lee to keep his job as San Miguel's import for the PBA Commissioner's Cup, as Justin Patton comes on.
The league announced on Monday that the Beermen activated Patton for their showdown against the Macau Black Knights at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The said match will take place on the first of six playdates, during which the PBA will hold games on a Tuesday night this conference.
Listed at seven feet tall, Patton was a former teammate of Kobe Paras at Creighton in the US NCAA, wherein he won Rookie of the Year in the Big East Conference in 2017.
Patton, though, went one-and-done and declared for the NBA Draft that year, eventually getting drafted 16th overall by Minnesota.
However, he played sparingly in his four-year NBA run, bouncing around the Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Houston Rockets with assignments in their respective G-League affiliates.
Patton eventually decided to take his talents overseas, playing in Israel, France, China, Taiwan, the Dominican Republic, and Greece.
A known defensive center who once led the Israeli league in blocks with 1.6 per game, Patton is expected to be SMB's main rim protector as it looks to keep itself away from the bottom of the team standings.
Although Patton will suit up for the Beermen, they are keeping their options open on Lee, as he was placed on the injured-reserve list.
Under PBA rules, Lee can be activated again in place of Patton if needed, but the latter can no longer return to the team this conference if it decides to replace Lee anew.
Struggling in his first two games, Lee willed SMB with 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting, 14 rebounds, one assist, and one steal on Saturday night, but behind another monster game from Bol Bol, the team got annihilated with a 92-118 loss to TNT.
The day after the blowout defeat, Jericho Cruz posted a video of Patton already training with the Beermen at their practice facility in Pasig, hinting that an import change was imminent.
Currently tied with Blackwater at 1-2, SMB looks to enter the Holy Week break on a winning note as it battles a Macau side still searching for its first PBA win after a 0-4 start.
