THOUGHTS | THE MERALCO IMPORT SITUATION

A couple of weeks ago, Nick Demusis got kicked by a prospective import.

Ismael Romero Fernandez is a Cuban who played for the Puerto Rican national team in the 2024 Paris Olympics. His teammates included current New York Knick Jose Alvarado, former NBA player Tremont Waters, and former Blackwater import Christopher Ortiz.

And yeah, Renaldo Balkman is also a former Puerto Rican standout.

The incident happened during the Dubai International Basketball Invitational, where Demusis represented the Zamboanga Valientes and Romero played for Libya's Al-Ahli. Apparently, Romero didn’t like the defense Demusis played, and all of a sudden, we saw Romero kick him twice in the head/neck area.

Incidentally, Romero was also playing for the Meralco Bolts in the East Asia Super League.

The EASL is composed of different champions from selected professional leagues in the region. The San Miguel Beermen or the TNT Tropang 5G were supposed to have the Philippines’ lone spot in the tournament, but they begged off because, let’s face it, apart from the prestige, this would just bring more physical and financial strain to the squads. We’ve seen PBA teams participate in this tournament, and while it’s a great experience, it’s also a pain—especially when you’re competing in two conferences at once. Last season, we saw how battered and bruised Hong Kong Eastern was when they had to fly to Manila less than 24 hours after playing in the EASL to battle TNT in the quarterfinals. Sure, there are more imports in these matches, but again, it’s like you have to concede one game to play better in the other.

I’m an ardent believer that multitasking doesn’t always work well when the stakes are high.

Anyway, the Meralco Bolts are poised to select Romero as their import in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup despite opposition from some members of the PBA community. Rain or Shine, the last team Demusis played for in the PBA, is royally pissed about what Romero did to their former teammate. Tim Cone is also asking Romero to mend fences first before playing here, and current Meralco coach Luigi Trillo agrees. According to SPIN.PH and Tiebreaker Times, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial will ask for a sit-down with Romero if he is officially introduced as Meralco’s import.

Look, maybe Romero didn’t like what Demusis did. Maybe they had been going at each other before the incident. However, I don’t really see anything wrong with what Demusis did. Yes, he went over the import and probably made contact in the process, but I think he did that to soften his fall.

If Romero got mad about that, he might have a problem with how fouls are called in the PBA.

The PBA isn’t as extreme as the MPBL in terms of physicality and violence, but there will be plenty of fouls worse than what Romero received. I’ve never really seen Beau Belga as a dirty player the way some people do, but he will bump an import with his body simply because he’s built like a tank, and it's going to hurt a lot. And it’s not like Belga is the only one. I remember a Dubai tournament clip from way back when Chris Tiu karate-chopped a player to force a loose ball.

Basically, a PBA player will do what they need to do to stop a player from going off, and this will be Romero's problem.

The PBA is a physical league, and if Romero wants to take the Meralco Bolts to the Finals, he has to be mindful not only of what he dishes out but also of what he’ll receive. Imports are paid more because they have to endure the grind of playing most of a 48-minute game, put up big numbers, and withstand the physical punishment from opposing defenses.

By delaying his apology, we get a clearer picture of what Romero might be like in the Commissioner’s Cup. Not only will he have an extra target on his back because of his notoriety, but opposing coaches will likely try to provoke him into losing his temper.

Remember, after his choking incident, Balkman was eventually seen as a decent guy. He represented the Philippines in the ABL as part of the San Miguel team and also with the Valientes. He was even voted MVP when he helped Mighty Sports win the 2019 Jones Cup. But yes, he choked Arwind Santos, and that incident will forever be attached to his name, regardless of what he did afterward to represent the Philippines.

The difference is that Balkman apologized to Santos after the incident. Romero hasn’t officially apologized, and that incident happened two weeks ago as of this writing.

Yes, Romero may be a 6'9" beast who has traveled the world because of his basketball skills, but maybe he needs to watch a PBA fights playlist on YouTube first before accepting his role as Meralco’s import. Whether PBA teams instigate something or not, he just revealed his tell.

And that makes him a double-edged sword for Meralco.

It might start with simple trash talk. It could be a hard foul. Hell, it could even be players daring him to shoot from the outside just to disrespect him on an off night.

After exposing his temper, I bet Guiao, Cone, and the rest of the league will try their best to mess with his game.