Barangay Ginebra San Miguel got a lucky break following the cancellation of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup due to super typhoon "Karding" over the weekend.

Kings coach Tim Cone yesterday said the brief pause gave them the luxury of time to integrate their new players — Jamie Malonzo and Von Pessumal — into their system.

Malonzo and Pessumal are tipped to play crucial roles for the powerhouse Kings.

Malonzo, an electrifying swingman from De La Salle University, landed on Ginebra camp via a three-team deal that involved NorthPort and San Miguel Beer.

He averaged 17.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.4 blocks for the Batang Pier in the recent Philippine Cup where they missed the post-season with a 3-8 win-loss record.

With the Kings, he is tipped to provide depth, athleticism and energy at the wing position while helping reigning Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson carry the scoring cudgels.

Pessumal, a former Ateneo de Manila sniper, is expected to be a valuable contributor as well.

He averaged 4.0 points and 1.4 rebounds for the Beermen in the season-opening conference, but his ability to drop long bombs will be very crucial as it will give scorers like Malonzo, Thompson and Stanley Pringle as well as big men Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar a bigger room to operate.

The Kings were supposed to parade Malonzo and Pessumal in their game against Converge, but the league decided to scrap the scheduled match after Metro Manila was placed under Signal No. 3.
Cone said the typhoon served as a blessing in disguise.

"We just traded for Jamie and Von so we can use the delay to continue to integrate them into our system," Cone told Daily Tribune in a conversation.

"They are coming along. We expect them to make an impact right away and get better as the conference continues."

Getting a couple of days of rest before facing Rain or Shine on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena is very important to the successful debut of Malonzo and Pessumal in Kings' uniform.