MANILA, Philippines — The AirAsia-Philippine Patriots decide on Tuesday to release import Donald Little following a lackluster performance in Sunday’s 96-81 loss to the Westports KL Dragons in Kuala Lumpur. Standing 6-foot-10, Little had just six points in the first half and was outrebounded a number of times before finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
Attitude problems also prompted the Patriots management to pull out the former US NCAA Division I cager for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, who was acquired to replace former import Jason Dixon last season.
The team has yet to find a replacement for Little, who averaged 12.4 points and 12.4 rebounds per game this season.
So the Patriots will only parade one import in guard Rasheim Wright when they face Satria Muda BritAma in a road game in Jakarta on Saturday.
“We’re still looking for a replacement or even a temporary import, but the worst-case scenario is that we will play with just one import on Saturday,” said Patriots coach Louie Alas.
With the recent loss, the Patriots, co-owned by Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero and businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco, dropped to second place with a 6-3 record, trailing the Chang Thailand Slammers (7-2) in this six-nation cage league.
Jonas Terrado, Manila Bulletin
