2026 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP | IMPORT WATCH | MARCUS LEE

SAN MIGUEL | MARCUS LEE

LISTED | 6’11 – 218LBS  

YEAR OF BIRTH | 1994

COLLEGE | KENTUCKY WILDCATS / CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS

NBA DRAFT | 2018 | UNDRAFTED

For weeks leading up to the announcement, it felt like San Miguel would finally get the right import to stand its ground against the likes of Bol Bol and Justin Brownlee.

Initial rumors mentioned Kenneth Faried. The Manimal might have been a stretch based on his NBA credentials, but now that he has played in China, maybe that’s not such a far-fetched idea.

Then there was even a rumor that it could have been JaVale McGee, who was once seen as a possible naturalized player.

In the end, San Miguel went with Australia NBL veteran Marcus Lee, and it felt like a total letdown for fans who wanted someone who could match the caliber of Bol Bol’s signing.

This also brings up what has basically become a recurring theme for the Beermen in import-based conferences: they are powerhouses in the Philippine Cup but hit-or-miss in the Commissioner’s Cup and the Governors’ Cup.

It feels like most of the budget is allocated to the locals, with the imports and the overseas scouting team left to pick up the scraps. As good a coach as Leo Austria is, for some reason, his imports are either hits or misses. In the last Commissioner’s Cup, San Miguel led the league in the number of imports used, with four. Normally, leading in something is a good thing—but not when it comes to import changes, because that usually means the reinforcements they brought in were duds. And judging by how import-like June Mar Fajardo’s numbers were last season, you probably get what I’m talking about.

Remember Malik Pope?

Ugh.

But hold that thought for a second, because it feels like something is up with Marcus Lee.

First, the dude played for two big-time NCAA schools—Kentucky and the University of California. Lee was seen as a future high pick for Kentucky, but couldn’t crack the rotation because the team also had future NBA players like Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Trey Lyles, just to name a few.

When he moved to California for his final NCAA season, one of his teammates was now-NLEX Road Warrior Schonny Winston. Lee finished his college career with averages of 11.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 1.6 bpg, while Winston averaged 1.6 ppg, 0.6 rpg, and 0.3 apg before moving to Central Michigan and then going one-and-done with the DLSU Green Archers.

And while he went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft, Lee took his talents to different places like Italy, Spain, Turkey, Puerto Rico, and Australia.

Austria has an import who knows how to adjust to better suit his tenure. And while I’m not saying that both Mo Tautuaa and Rodney Brondial are easy candidates for fewer minutes once the import is in the picture, I can’t see anything wrong with June Mar and Lee hogging most of the minutes in the frontline.

After all, the Commissioner’s Cup is designed for towering hired guns.

That said, Lee can’t afford to have bad nights because, as team history will tell you, San Miguel can turn to rookies they believe fit their system—and they won’t hesitate to pull the trigger the moment they find an import ineffective.

Hopefully, he can prove his doubters wrong.