Needing to boost their frontcourt, school-based squad Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes have picked up former De La Salle University Green Archer Jason Perkins for their PBA D-League Aspirants Cup campaign.
Together with Perkins, Cignal also signed big men Mark Bringas and Alfred Batino to join the young Red Lions frontline that includes Ben Adamos and U-18 standout John Bryle Bahio.
“We have to do what we had. It really deepens our rotation of our bigs, but compared to the other teams, we’re still undersized. I guess we just have to outwork them,” said returning San Beda head coach and Cignal mentor Boyet Fernandez.
“He came back last January 12 and we were lucky he was a free agent. We’re very impressed with the way he plays even though he played sparingly with La Salle.”
Perkins was first discovered by former San Beda head coach Frankie Lim, but he transferred to La Salle. In his final year with the Green Archers, he averaged just 4.3 points and 4.4 rebounds but was limited to just 11 games due to a nagging knee injury.
Cignal assures that they will do everything to strengthen the Filipino-American stretch forward.
“He’s currently doing rehab and we’re trying to strengthen him. The doctors said that he’s cleared to play so we hope he plays an important role in our team,” Fernandez shared.
Perkins, the first overall pick in the 2016 PBA D-League Draft, played for the Caida Tile Masters last season, posting norms of 11.0 points and 8.3 rebounds.
Jason Perkins and the Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes will make their season debut on Tuesday, January 24, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.