The initial cast of imports for the PBA Fiesta Cup is now complete with
San Miguel finally naming Nate Carter as its reinforcement.

The Beermen, who lost to eventual Philippine Cup champions Talk ‘N Text
in the semifinals, hope to bounce back by bringing in the former
Oklahoma University forward to beef up their talented but oft-injured
frontline.

“We needed someone to help us with our rebounding,” said San Miguel
coach Siot Tanquingcen. “That was our weakness in the previous
conference.”

Carter, who played two seasons for the OU Sooners, is due to arrive Monday or Tuesday, according to San Miguel management.

Other teams have already either reached verbal agreements with or named
their possible imports for the Fiesta Cup, which allows foreign players
standing no more than 6-foot-6.

Four former imports will lead the roster of reinforcements.

The burly Shawn Daniels will patrol the shaded lane for Burger King,
Rod Nealy will try to boost Barangay Ginebra’s offense, JJ Sullinger
tries on a Coca-Cola uniform and Charles Clark III returns for Rain or
Shine.

Alaska has named Rosell Ellis as the man in its wish list but
management has said that nothing has been finalized with the
hardworking import.

Sta. Lucia and Purefoods will parade new names, with the Realtors eyeing AJ Jackson and the Giants tabbing Reggie Larry.

Red Bull is bringing in Tennessee product Scooter McFagdon while Talk ‘N Text will suit up Tiras Wade.

The powerhouse Beermen fell in six semifinal games to the Tropang
Texters and are expected to be the team to watch this conference—even
with a lot of their big men regularly penciled into the injured list.

Stars Danny Seigle and Dorian Peña have gone in and out of the disabled
list while Danny Ildefonso sat out the previous conference because of
injuries, leaving the wingmen led by Cebuano hotshot Dondon Hontiveros
to carry the load.

“We could’ve done better in the previous conference,” said Tanquingcen. “But that’s that and we need to move forward.”

“We can’t dwell on what happened in the past,” San Miguel team manager
Robert Non said. “Things like that happen. You win some, you lose some.”

Carter saw action with the Sooners from 2003 to 2007. His four-season
career with the Big 12 conference heavyweight saw him posting averages
of 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Carter is listed as 6-6 and weighing 220 lb. He is coming off a stint
in the French league, where he averaged 17.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in
19 games with Saint-Etienne. Francis T. J. Ochoa

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