No Gamble This Time as Meralco Taps Reliable Varnado

Learning from the previous mistake of bringing in an import they were not familiar with, the Meralco Bolts have decided to recall the services of Jordon Varnado and give him another tour of duty as their reinforcement, this time in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

Bolts team manager Paolo Trillo confirmed the move, with Meralco bringing back the same import who suited up for the squad in last year’s Basketball Champions League Asia campaign.

“We’re bringing him back,” said Trillo. “We’re familiar with him so it’s going to be easier fitting him into our system.”

According to Trillo, Varnado had already proven to be a chemistry guy, blending well with the team during their BCL Asia stint.

“It helped that he was with us for two weeks in the BCL. We like his versatility as he can play multiple positions,” added Trillo. “We feel that he’s going to be a good fit for us.”

Varnado was one of three reinforcements who suited up for the Bolts in last year’s BCL Asia, along with Glynn Watson Jr. and John Egbunu. The Bolts reached the quarterfinal round by beating Japan B.League squad Utsunomiya Brex, 97-86, before being eliminated in the knockout phase by powerhouse Mongolian team Ulaanbaatar Xac Broncos, 83-78.

In three games in the tournament, Varnado averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.

Varnado, according to Trillo, has no definite arrival date yet, but is expected to be in the country sometime next week after already signing his contract.

Bringing in an import they already know, particularly Varnado, who is an all-around player, became a priority for Meralco.

Last conference, the Bolts were supposed to bring in Ismael Romero, who backstopped the team’s solid campaign in the previous East Asia Super League season while teaming up with Justin Brownlee, Sina Vahedi, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson before the latter suffered an Achilles injury.

Romero, a veteran campaigner in the FIBA World Cup, was supposed to be the Bolts’ import in the just-concluded Commissioner’s Cup, which featured reinforcements with no height limit. But the Bolts deferred plans of tapping the Puerto Rican banger after he figured in an on-court scuffle against former PBA player Nick Demusis, who was then playing for the Zamboanga Valientes in the Dubai International Tournament.

Romero was banned from playing after kicking the fallen Demusis, a development that also cost him his entry into the PBA. The Bolts then settled for a pair of seven-footers who took over his place on separate occasions — Marvin Jones and Patrick Gardner.

Despite struggling to find an import who could be the right fit for the squad, the Bolts still managed to enter the semifinal round before losing to the TNT Tropang 5G.

Meralco active coaching consultant Nenad Vucinic said the team had to adjust quickly after the Romero situation.

“Yes, Romero was our choice but had to pull out right before the conference started, so our options were very limited. In the end, making the semis cannot be that bad,” said Vucinic, who led the team to its second straight semifinals stint this season.

Tapping Varnado, Vucinic added, was a no-brainer.

“Varnado spent three weeks with us in BCL and we think he does bring a lot of quality for us. Good, versatile player with good character and basketball IQ,” added Vucinic.