Jimmy Alapag is banking on familiarity as he’s bringing in Deonte Burton to serve as NLEX’s new import with DeQuan Jones out due to a broken leg.
While his name remains unfamiliar to most fans, the former PBA MVP himself knows the American wing too well after working together in the NBA.
“He’ll be making his PBA debut after the break,” he told reporters Friday, moments after the Road Warriors’ narrow 112-110 loss to Converge in a thrilling Season 50 Governors’ Cup encounter at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Looking forward to having him. We spent time together in the G League and with the Kings. Excited to have him on board,” he continued.
Alapag and NLEX played against the FiberXers without an import due to time constraints.
Jones suffered the gruesome injury just last Tuesday in their eventual win over TNT at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The 48-year-old said that they no longer bothered rushing in bringing in a foreign reinforcement for Friday’s game and instead played all-Filipino.
“Bitin ‘yung oras because we would have needed an import to fly right after our last game. We didn’t really have a chance to take a look and see who we can try to bring in,” he explained.
“But, I got a chance to use everybody.”
It was initially reported that NLEX will start its search during the PBA’s FIBA break, but Alapag has already found his import in Bruton, who alternated stints with the Stockton Kings and the Sacramento Kings between 2022 and 2024.
The rookie PBA head coach hopes that the 32-year-old American winger, who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions in the CBA, would be able to fit in smoothly.
But he’s confident that the Milwaukee-native could, as he’s seeing some similarities between the latter and the veteran Jones.
“I think very comparable, in terms of just his explosiveness, the power, the physicality. He spent some time in the NBA, and we spent time together. So hopefully, our experience working together in the past, that makes his transition to the PBA and with NLEX smoother than it would be with an import that hasn’t played here before,” he said.
“Excited to have him on board.”
