San Miguel has found an insurance policy in case Jordan Adams won’t get healthy in time for the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals this week.
According to sources closely monitoring the situation, the Beermen have already brought in EJ Anosike as their backup for the injured reinforcement.
The 25-year-old arrived in Manila on Sunday night, sources said, and should be ready for height measurement in the league’s office the soonest.
Bringing him in was the decision that the coaches and management saw fit as there remains a cloud of uncertainty hovering above Adams’ status.
The 30-year-old winger got hurt during their eventual 122-112 defeat to Rain or Shine last Thursday, where he asked to be subbed out early in the fourth.
That injury sidelined the 30-year-old in their bout against Blackwater last Saturday, where the all-Filipino SMB got beaten badly, 111-94.
After that match, Gallent told reporters about a crucial Sunday meeting to discuss their next move in addressing the import situation.
And so, they deemed it best to fly in Anosike, a Nigerian-American forward from New York who is just in his second year playing professionally.
He was named MVP of China’s National Basketball League (NBL) last August as he helped Hefei Kuangfeng reach the quarterfinals.
Anosike finished as the league’s scoring champion of the 2023-24 season with a per-game average of 29.9 points, which he laced with 10.0 rebounds.
A former NBA G League campaigner, Anosike has also competed in Korea with the Suwon KT Sonicboom of the KBL, Canada, and Belgium.
In Belgium, he helped Liege Basket to the Final Four of the Belgian League and in the ENBL while earning individual accolades along the way.
Still, his status hinges on how Adams is progressing.