Petron Signs Governor's Cup 2013 Import: D-League Standout Elijah Millsap

After months of waiting and intense scouting, the Petron Blaze Boosters finally have an import for the upcoming 2013 Governor's Cup competition in the PBA. The said import played for LA D-Fenders at the D-League as a guard and stands 6'6" tall. It was San Miguel Executive Noli Eala who confirmed the news over the weekend.

According to Eala, Millsap will be joining the team once the Summer League is over at the NBA. His expected date of arrival will be on July 25.

During his stint with LA D-Fenders, Millsap produced an average of 17.2 points in addition to his near 6 rebounds per game. He has played a total of 44 games for the LA D-Fenders thus far, in which he posted the aforementioned numbers. If his family name rings a bell, he is the younger brother of Jazz forward Paul Millsap.

Head coach Olsen Racela has not leaked any information about Millsap while negotiation is still ongoing. Thus, the media thought all along that they were negotiating with Othyus Jeffers because the team wanted to keep their negotiations top secret until such time that the contract has been finalized. Jeffers, on the other hand, is also a veteran in the NBA wherein he formerly played for the Spurs, Wizards, and the Jazz.

When asked about the reason behind their decision to pick Millsap as Petron import for the 2013 PBA Governor's Cup, he cited versatility. They wanted an import that can play "at both ends of the court". After all, they just recently traded Jay Washington to GlobalPort so they wanted to fill in that gap. They are also looking to play Arwind Santos and Elijah Millsap in the same power forward positions.

Stay tuned for more updates on import signings at the upcoming PBA 2013 Governor's Cup.

Petron Blazers Welcome New Import Henry Sims

Image: Petron Blaze Boosters official Facebook fan page

Petron Blaze Boosters has a new import! It's been a few days that the Twitter world went abuzz as Petron is still hard in its search for a new import to replace Rodney White, the former PBA import whom they recruited after the PBA imposed a lifetime ban on their then-import Renaldo Balkman following a choking incident that involved his own teammate. However, White had been less than impressive in his two games with Petron, prompting the SMC management to look for another import that could help out the team's cause in their ongoing campaign to make the playoffs round of the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup.


And it seems like their search is finally over as SMC Executive Noli Eala has confirmed the news. Henry Sims is the new Petron import and is expected to suit up in Petron's game this Friday against Meralco Bolts. Eala took to his Twitter account to confirm the news saying, "Its official. Its Henry Sims!"

The news came out last Monday when head coach Olsen Racela confirmed that they had offered Sims a contract to play as Petron's import in the PBA. According to Racela, "We want to have a permanent import."

When asked about their motivation for choosing Sims, despite the fact that they had trouble with sealing the contract and having Gabe Freeman on standby, Racela said, "He's bigger than our two previous imports as he plays No. 4 and 5 positions."

The impressive portfolio of Henry Sims had made him their top choice for import as of the moment. Even Brgy. Ginebra import, Vernon Macklin, is impressed with Sims. After all, Sims is a fellow alumnus from Georgetown, which is why he knows how Sims operate on and off the court.

According to the Ginebra import, "He's got a great attitude, he is a young guy. He just wants to work hard to make it to the next level." Macklin can guarantee that Sims won't be making a repeat of the horror that Balkman brought to the team.

If Sims can prove to be the missing piece in this team's puzzle, he might help improve their standing after losing two games in a row since winning the first one following Balkman's ban.