Stone makes Beermen smile

Tyler Stone seems to be the guy San Miguel Beer wants as an import for the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup that reels off 5 November.

So far, Stone has been impressive in his workouts with the Beermen.

"He can shoot, can play inside and out and he brings a lot of energy," San Miguel Beer team manager Gee Abanilla told DAILY TRIBUNE in a telephone interview.

"Those things that we saw in videos, we're seeing now in practices and if he continues doing that, he's going to be okay."

A former coach-turned team executive, Abanilla sees the 6-foot-8 Stone playing the No. 3 and No. 4 spots to complement six-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and Mo Tautuaa.

With Fajardo coming off a stint in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games by the time the new PBA season starts, Stone is expected to carry much of the burden in the early goings.

Fajardo has been playing non-stop since July when Gilas Pilipinas began setting up training camp here and overseas.

As soon as Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and CJ Perez return from China, they would be allowed to take a breather before being deployed again for the PBA wars.

Stone will then team up with Terrence Romeo, Mo Tautuaa and Allyn Bulanadi as the Beermen ramp up their chances in the conference.

Muscleman Vic Manuel will likely be sidelined for the time being so he can recover from a knee injury.

Aside from the mainstays, San Miguel also beefed up its roster with the acquisition of third round draft pick Troy Mallilin and online sensation Kyt Jimenez.

Stone is coming off a stint in the Romanian league where he normed 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 36.5 percent from the three-point region.