MANILA – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters flew in a familiar face as import for the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup, which is set to begin Aug. 17 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
After his impressive showing last year – even though Rain or Shine failed to advance past the quarterfinals – J’Nathan Bullock is back for another tour of duty with the Painters.
“J’Nathan is already familiar with this team. He was also effective for us last year,” said Painters head coach Carlos Garcia. “Actually he looks fitter than the first time he was here.”
Bullock helped the Painters reach the playoffs of the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup where they were one victory short of advancing to the semifinals – losing to TNT KaTropa 114-118 in their knockout quarterfinals.
The 31-year-old Bullock, undrafted during the 2009 NBA Rookie Draft, is an experienced player, with stints as import in Australia, Belgium, Iceland, and Finland.
Bullock arrived earlier than usual after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas scraped the plan to send the Painters’ core to the 2018 Asian Games – until it reconsidered recently – Garcia said.
“Tuluy-tuloy lang ang practice nila, hindi naman buong team ang pupunta sa Asian Games,” said Garcia. “Si (assistant) coach Mike (Buendia) muna ang ha-handle habang nasa Asian Games kami.”
Rain or Shine hopes to continue its rise in the league after its third place finish in the just-concluded 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with wide-bodied import Reginald Johnson leading the way./PN
