Rain or Shine import Pierre Henderson-Niles has had a bunch of colorful statements throughout his stint for the Elasto Painters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
He first called Barangay Ginebra big Greg Slaughter “soft.” He then said San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo better than Slaughter, and earlier in the conference finals, he claimed he should have been the Best Import winner.
But he made sure to save the best one for his finale.
“The imports who score 20, 30, 40 points, where they at? They out,” Henderson-Niles said on Wednesday after the Elasto Painters won the conference title.
Henderson-Niles’ statement may sound just as arrogant as his past ones, but it is something that’s thought-provoking as well.
Henderson-Niles is the lowest-scoring import in the tournament and perhaps even of all time. Through 13 games for the Elasto Painters this conference, the reinforcement averaged only 9.6 PPG and 10.9 RPG.
But how he managed to stay as a revelant piece for Rain or Shine speaks of the changing role of PBA imports in the league.
Reinforcements of the past are known for dominating games from an offensive standpoint. They light up the scoreboard, with some scoring literally half or even more of his squad’s total output. But in the process, the arrival of imports have raised the level of play in the league, the same way foreign student-athletes have made local amateur standouts — especially the big men — even tougher and more well-rounded players.
Rain or Shine brought Henderson-Niles simply because they did not have a big man to match up with the likes of Slaughter and Fajardo. They did not need a high-scoring nor do-it-all import. They had a bunch of talented locals to do that job. They just did not have a legitimate post presence, which was costly in the past conferences. And Henderson-Niles’ arrival took care of that problem.
“I come here, I score 10 or 12 points, get 15 rebounds a game, I don’t need to score. Nobody on our team scores 20 points a game. Everybody’s around the same number,” Henderson-Niles said.
Rain or Shine swept Barangay Ginebra in the quarter-finals and took down San Miguel in four games in the semi-finals, thanks in large part to Henderson-Niles. Because of his presence, the Elasto Painters did not have to throw double-teams in the post that much. His single coverage on defense enabled the rest of the Elasto Painters to concentrate on the four other opponents and the floor, and that spelled a big difference throughout the playoffs.
Head coach Yeng Guiao said winning the conference title was also a testament to how deep the team is, getting contributions from everyone on the roster.
“Nagawa namin ‘to with the lowest-scoring import ever. It means they (locals) really stepped up offensively. Hindi kami nagrely sa scoring ng import namin. He made his contributions in other areas, but yung stereotype import na gagawa ng 30 points every game, hindi siya yun,” Guiao said, adding Henderson-Niles will definitely be an option next year.
“I think nagchampion kami in a unique way. Wala pang nakakagawa ng ganito, may import ka nga pero low-scoring. You can’t argue with a championship. With a 10-3 record, he will always be an option, hindi maaalis yun, he will also need to defend his crown so matagal pa naman ‘yun eh but for now, he deserves that.”
Henderson-Niles added that although he said in the past he should have won the Best Import award instead, the championship was the only thing he longed for.
“The imports score 20, 30, 40 points, it’s cool, but you losing. I grab 18, 14, 16, get 14 or 16 rebounds, and we’re winning. We won a championship. That’s all I really care about. This is what I wanted, I don’t care about no Best Import (award),” Henderson-Niles said.
Team success did trump individual greatness in the end. Henderson-Niles knew he did not have to be the best reinforcement; he just needed to be a great complementary piece.
He did that, and also showed there is a place for imports in the PBA who aren’t the high-scoring, do-it-all types as long as they complement a system perfectly.
“It feels really good. Hopefully we can repeat next year. I will be in much better shape,” he said.
