13 MBA stars tapped for Jones Cup

Thirteen of the best players of the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) have been named to carry the Philippine colors in the Williams Jones Cup in Taiwan from July 13 to 24.

Leading the group are former MBA Most Valuable Players Romel Adducul of the Osaka Pangasinan Waves, John Ferriols of the RCPI Negros Slashers and Alex Compton and Eddie Laure of the LBC Batangas Blades. Adducul, Ferriols and Laure are veterans of the gold medal-winning MBA All-Star team to the 2001 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur. Compton played with the Manila Metrostars in the 1999 Sina Cup, also in Taiwan.

Rounding out the roster are Jeff Flowers of the Gilbey’s Olongapo Volunteers, VJ Santos of the Pampanga Stars, Jercules Tangkay and Stephen Padilla of the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems, Billy Mamaril and Peter Simon of the Professional Davao Eagles, Peter Naron of the Casino Cagayan de Oro Amigos, Jeff Sanders of the Blades and Reynel Hugnatan of the Slashers.

Jones Cup rules allow two imports per team, with Compton and Flowers filling the part. This will be Flowers’ third appearance in the Jones Cup. Last year, he led the tournament in rebounding as a member of the Laguna Lakers. The Philippines is set to match skills with powerhouse teams from Japan, South Korea, Canada, Russia, Honduras and two teams from host Chinese-Taipei.