The PBA has seen quite a few exceptional imports in the season-ending conference.
The PBA Governors’ Cup, with its lower height limit of 6-foot-6, has traditionally been the domain of athletic, explosive wings. It is traditionally home to tweeners as well—paint-oriented players but undersized to be a 4 in bigger leagues and not explosive enough to be a full-blown 3. And over the past decade or so, PBA fans have seen both types of reinforcements, with some going on to win the Best Import award of the league’s season-ending conference. The best of them are as ranked as follows:
7. Jamelle Cornley, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2012)
Cornley was a classic tweener, a bull-strong athlete who made a living in the paint. And he was exactly the kind of player Rain or Shine needed to complement Jeff Chan, Paul Lee, TY Tang, and Gabe Norwood. He averaged 22.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks in the 2012 Governors’ Cup and helped the Elasto Painters win a most improbable title opposite the B-Meg Llamados (now Magnolia Hotshots).
6. Romeo Travis, Alaska Aces (2015)
Before setting foot in the Philippines, Travis was mostly known as the high school teammate of LeBron James. But he more than proved he could play, posting all-around numbers of 22.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks and giving the Aces an immovable force in the paint. The 6-foot-6 lefty even took Alaska to the finals, where it fell to the Death 5-led San Miguel Beermen.
5. Marqus Blakely, San Mig Coffee Mixers (2013)
Blakely was nowhere near as prolific as scorer as any of the imports in this list, putting up just 19.2 points in his Best Import campaign. But he was arguably one of the better defenders the league has ever seen, combining elite athleticism, sheer will, and a nonstop motor to dictate games on the defensive end. And he more than made up for his lack of scoring by posting per game averages of 15.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.4 blocks in helping the Coffee Mixers win the 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup title. It was the first of their four consecutive titles, which includes the 2014 grand slam season.
4. AZ Reid, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2011, 2014)
The dreadlocked Reid had several tour of duties in the PBA, but he was at his best in 2011 and 2014. In his first go-round, Reid bagged the Best Import award even though Rain or Shine did not make it to the semis by posting per game numbers of 28.7 points points, 15.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks. He was just as good in 2014, averaging 29.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in leading the Elasto Painters to a runner-up finish opposite the grand slam-winning San Mig Coffee.
3. Mike Harris, Alaska Aces (2018)
Harris was a cross between Cornley and Travis—but better. He was simply dominant back in the 2018 Governors’ Cup, posting mammoth averages of 29.6 points and 20.1 rebounds. He added 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks while leading the Aces to the finals, where they lost to the Romeo Travis-led Hotshots.
2. Justin Brownlee, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2021)
Surprisingly enough, Brownlee won Best Import in the Governors’ Cup just once in his storied PBA career, and that was back in 2021. But it was certainly memorable because of the way he did it. Kabayan looked spent for most of the eliminations as Ginebra fell all the way to sixth and got a twice-to-beat disadvantage. Then, Brownlee turned up the magic, delivering a sensational playoff run that culminated in another championship. Along the way, Brownlee showcased his all-around brilliance, posting per game averages of 29.9 points, 11.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.65 steals, and 1.96 blocks.
1. Allen Durham, Meralco Bolts (2016, 2017, 2019)
The knock on Durham is his lack of a championship. But disregard that and his standing in this list is justified. All three of his Best Import awards are well deserved as he posted video-game numbers each time around: 29.2 points, 15.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.7 blocks in 2016; 26.4 points, 19.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 2017; and 29.3 points, 16.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 2019. Durham was really that good. He just had the great misfortune of running into Brownlee’s Ginebra every time.