NorthPort signed up guard Roi Sumang plus two others to contracts to make up for the absence of Robert Bolick, Greg Slaughter and Nico Elorde for the resumption of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Team manager Bonnie Tan confirmed the addition of Sumang, Alvin Abundo and Cris Dumapig after Bolick, Slaughter and Elorde opted to become free agents after their contracts expired last Jan. 31.
Bolick, Slaughter and Elorde, however, are restricted free agents, meaning that NorthPort can match any offer by other teams.
But there are rumors that Bolick may entertain offers to sign with clubs overseas, particularly Japan’s B.League which has a number of Filipino players suiting up in its ongoing season.
Sumang is returning to the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2015 draft. He played just one season for the Batang Pier before spending four years with the Blackwater Elite.
The 5-foot-8 cager out of University of the East was dealt to NLEX in March 2021, but never got to play for the Road Warriors. Sumang wind up in the MPBL, playing for Nueva Ecija in the Invitational tourney last December at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Abundo was best known for being a seldom-used guard for Magnolia from 2016 to 2020 where he became a fan favorite. His last cage stint was with San Juan in the Filbasket bubble in Subic.
Dumapig, a big man from Southwestern University, was selected by NorthPort in the 2019 draft but spent time in the MPBL and, recently, in the VisMin Super Cup for Zamboabga Sibugay.