By REYNALD MAGALLON
Bennie Boatwright is coming over to Manila once again to help rescue the San Miguel Beermen after their import Justin Patton went absent without leave and missed their game against Magnolia on Sunday, April 12.
SMB team manager Gee Abanilla in an interview with the members of the press revealed that the team had already reached an agreement with Boatwright and he’s expected to fly in in the coming days.
Boatwright is only awaiting clearance and exit interviews with his former team in the KBL.
The development came after the Beermen was forced to pull the plug on Patton, who did not attend the team’s last two days of practice and left them hanging in the game against the Hotshots.
“Because of what happened, I was forced to get in touch right away with Bennie. Sabi ko kay Boss Robert (Non), kung ganyan ang gagawin sa atin, might as well call Bennie right away because hindi pa siya tapos sa mga exit interviews niya,” Abanilla said after the shorthanded SMB absorbed a 120-101 defeat against Magnolia.
“I told him come over. May understanding kami. I’ll try to fly him in as soon as possible,” he added.
Boatwright would be SMB’s third import this conference with Patton also replacing first import Marcus Lee.
The 6-foot-10 forward was San Miguel’s import when it last won the Commissioner’s Cup two seasons ago. His impressive performance during that stretch piqued the interest of Gilas Pilipinas which is now working on his naturalization to be part of the national team.
