Macau adds color to Comm’s Cup by being lucky 13th team
The Macau Black Bears were formally accepted as a guest team that will join the 12 regular squads for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, marking the second straight season that a foreign ballclub will take its act in the league’s midseason conference.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial led a delegation that travelled to Macau, where the stint was sealed on Friday with a symbolic handshake with Black Bears owner Jackie Fung.
But the Black Bears, like past visiting squads from the recent past, will have to adhere to league regulations, particularly with the composition of their roster.
That means Macau will only be allowed to tap players considered as locals and one import of unlimited height for the conference, which tips off March 11.
“Like the Bay Area Dragons and Eastern, they will have to follow our rules,” Marcial said during the recent PBA Philippine Cup Finals won by San Miguel Beer over TNT, when discussions on the Black Bears were tackled during an informal chat with scribes.
Import rules
Bay Area and Eastern, both based in Hong Kong, were likewise permitted to field in one import each during their respective Commissioner’s Cup stints in 2022 and 2025.
The Dragons had to swap Andrew Nicholson and Myles Powell during the 2022 edition that saw them fall one win short of defeating crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra for the title.
The PBA, though, gave concessions to allow Powell to play a second time during the tail end of the Finals after Nicholson went down with an injury and left the Dragons with an all-local lineup for two games.
Eastern, on the other hand, fielded Cameron Clark as its first import, then tapped Chris McLaughlin before going back to Clark when McLaughlin suffered an injury.
PBA rules permit teams to bring back their original imports only once, while replacements can no longer return once replaced.
Eastern slumped late in the conference after a hot start in last year’s Commissioner’s Cup, eventually getting the boot by eventual champion TNT in the quarterfinals.
There were reports that Macau asked for a concession to have Filipino players suit up, which could have given the chance to add the likes of Cole Micek, selected in the PBA Rookie Draft but never signed by any team and played for the Black Bears.
The PBA’s news release said Macau plans to have veteran Sam Deguara, who stands at 7-foot-6, as its reinforcement for the Commissioner’s Cup, which allows teams to tap imports regardless of height.
Deguara is no stranger to the Philippines, having played as an import in the Asean Basketball League, the Asian Tournament and the East Asia Super League and recently played for the Zamboanga Valientes in the Dubai Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Notable locals are Damian Chongqui, Omari Peek-Green and Phoenix Shackelford.
