PBA: Import woes hit NLEX as Jonathon Simmons gets China team offer

NLEX Coach Frankie Lim. – PBA PICTURES

MANILA, Philippines—The partnership between NLEX and alleged import Jonathon Simmons seems to have reached a dead end.

Simmons was supposed to make his debut for the Road Warriors in the first game of the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup against Blackwater on Wednesday but coach Frankie Lim revealed problems with the former NBA player.

“They had an offer in China, so I said, ‘come on, we’ll find someone else.’ He probably won’t play on Wednesday, but we will just try and find a way,” Lim said in a story on the PBA website.

At the time of writing, NLEX has not confirmed if they will play with the new import against Bossings or if they will be All-Filipino.

For Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia, any situation will not cause him to change his team’s game plan as they look for their first victory.

“Gano’n pa rin (It will be the same). We will try and contain the import, anyone. One more key, they have new players so we don’t know the impact they will have for NLEX,” said the top coach.

While NLEX is unsure of the import situation, Blackwater will regain the services of foreign cager Shawn Glover.

Glover helped Blackwater score a 29-game winning streak in 2021.

In addition to their incredible imports, Vanguardia also enjoys conference play with a full roster.

“Baser (Amer), Jayvee (Casio) and Joshua (Torralba) will finally play [altogether]. It won’t be long—maybe next week Troy (Rosario) will play,” said the mentor.

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