By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
THE COLUMBIAN Dyip finally barged into the win column of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the weekend, something they hope to build on as they shoot for a turnaround after starting their campaign with three straight losses.
Defeated the NLEX Road Warriors, 120-105, on Saturday, the Dyip improved to 1-3 in the midseason PBA tournament.
Columbian rookie CJ Perez had a career-high 39 points in the victory with import Kyle Barone dishing out his best game in the tournament with 31 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
It was, however the last game for Mr. Barone as team management decided to go in a different direction and replace him with Lester Prosper.
Mr. Prosper is touted as a defensive specialist who should provide a better fit for a team which has “enough offense,” the Dyip think tank believes, to make its way through the conference.
It is a change that Columbian coach John Cardel hopes to serve as a catalyst, coupled with their debut win at the weekend, moving forward.
“Barone is a good import but I guess he’s not the kind of import we need at this point. Our new import will help us on defense. He can give us energy from which the local players can follow,” said Mr. Cardel in the postgame press conference following their victory over NLEX.
Mr. Prosper is due to arrive on Tuesday. He is a 30-year-old journeyman who has parlayed his wares in leagues in different parts of the world after playing collegiate ball at Old Westbury in New York.
He last played with the Worcester Wolves in the British Basketball League, averaging a near double-double of 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds.
With Mr. Barone (25.7 points and 17.3 rebounds) now out of the picture and the more defensive-minded (Mr.) Prosper in, Mr. Cardel said they are hoping to get more consistent scoring from the rest of the team.
In four games to date, Mr. Perez has been the top local scorer for Columbian with a 24.2-point average.
After him it is Rashawn McCarthy with 14.5 points followed by Jackson Corpuz with 9.8 points.
Columbian will parade their new import Mr. Prosper on June 16 against the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok.