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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Cast of towering PBA imports complete

Cast of towering PBA imports complete

Published Mar 1, 2026 01:58 pm

At A Glance

  • Philippine Cup champion San Miguel has tapped 6-foot-11 center Marcus Lee while an NBA caliber talent in Kylor Kelly are reinforcing the souped up Converge in the mid-season conference that allowed teams to tap imports with unlimited height.
From left, Michael Gilmore (Titan), Kylor Kelly (Converge), Marcus Lee (SMB), and Sam Deguara (Macau).
From left, Michael Gilmore (Titan), Kylor Kelly (Converge), Marcus Lee (SMB), and Sam Deguara (Macau).

The cast of imports in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup is finally complete.

Philippine Cup champion San Miguel has tapped 6-foot-11 center Marcus Lee while an NBA caliber talent in Kylor Kelly is reinforcing the souped up Converge in the mid-season conference that allowed teams to tap imports with unlimited height.

The FiberXers, who have added Calvin Abueva, James Kwekuteye and Jonnel Policarpio during the offseason, made sure to have a quality import in the 7-foot Kelly who is fresh off his stint with the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G-League.

Lee, on the other hand, is playing mostly as a forward and seemed to be a fit for the Beermen as he will be playing alongside June Mar Fajardo.

Of course, the two imports are chosen by the two contending teams in the idea of being competitive against defending champion TNT which tapped a legitimate NBA talent in 7-foot-3 center Bol Bol.

Also looking to match the ceiling is PBA guest team Macau Black Bears who will be parading the tallest import of this batch in 7-foot-7 Sam Deguara. Aside from the Maltese behemoth, the Black Bears will also have the services of 6-foot-7 Tony Mitchell.

Mitchell is no stranger to the PBA, having played for Magnolia and NLEX in the past.

Titan, on the other hand, is bringing in 6-foot-10 forward Michael Gilmore to reinforce the team. 

Gilmore, like Lee, played mostly as a forward and is expected to have a hands full against the other towering imports — a problem that the Giant Risers could easily address should they finally sign 7-foot center Greg Slaughter.

Among the early imports who came over earlier and are already practicing with their teams are Terrafirma’s Mubasha Ali, Terrell Brown-Soares for Magnolia, and Blackwater’s Daniel Ochefu.

Israel Romero of Meralco, Jaylen Johnson for Rain or Shine, James Dickey of Phoenix, Cady Lalanne of NLEX, and Barangay Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee completed the list.

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