TOP 5 TERRAFIRMA IMPORTS OF ALL-TIME

PETER JUNE RAMOS

Over the years, the Terrafirma Dyip has brought in a lot of imports.

Still, it's wild to think that only two of them ended their stints with winning records, and even then, it wasn’t entirely because of them.

Sure, as hired guns, their main job is to lead their team to victories. But it’s not like they had much help to keep the team out of the cellar. What’s even crazier is that the two imports who ended with winning records didn’t even finish their respective conferences. CJ Aiken only played three games, and Iman Zandi was recalled back to Iran because he was barely getting any minutes.

With just 20 imports in their history, I’ve decided to narrow it down to five names. And just like in my Terrafirma locals list, don’t expect a deep lineup of awards and accolades here either.

Game starts now.

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5 | ANTONIO HESTER

21 GAMES | 24.00 PPG | 11.67 RPG | 3.43 APG | 1.43 SPG | 0.38 BPG

WIN-LOSS RECORD | 3-18

The fifth-best Terrafirma import finished with a 3-18 win-loss record. Let that sink in for a moment. And to be clear, it’s not like any of that was Antonio Hester’s fault. In fact, Hester helped lead Magnolia to a 7-1 run in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup before they were eliminated by Meralco in the quarterfinals.

Maybe that was the moment when Terrafirma realized that if they actually wanted to win a championship, they needed to invest in real assets. Still, in the two conferences that Hester suited up for, the team ended up in 11th and 12th place.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Hester ranks first among all Terrafirma imports in total games, assists, and steals. He’s also second in total points and rebounds. So, despite the record, his spot in franchise import history is secure.

4 | LESTER PROSPER

17 GAMES | 30.71 PPG | 16.12 RPG | 2.24 APG | 0.47 SPG | 1.29 BPG

WIN-LOSS RECORD | 3-14

Here’s another “top Terrafirma import” who managed to land high on the list despite holding just an 18 percent win rate. In between a short stint with San Miguel, the naturalized Indonesian big man suited up for Terrafirma from 2019 to 2022.

In the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Prosper replaced Kyle Barone and helped the team pick up two more wins, closing the conference with a 3-8 record. He returned for the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup and helped Terrafirma get a single win over NLEX before dropping the rest of their games. After a conference-ending injury, the team decided to go All-Filipino for the remainder of the season.

Despite the team’s struggles, Prosper still left his mark. He is the franchise’s all-time leader among imports in total points and rebounds, and he’s tied for second in total games played.

3 | KHAPRI ALSTON

11 GAMES | 28.55 PPG | 18.18 RPG | 3.18 APG | 2.45 SPG | 1.27 BPG

WIN-LOSS RECORD | 4-7

The PBA has had a long list of iconic imports since 1975, but honestly, I had almost forgotten about Khapri Alston. I’m not even sure if I was following the league closely in 2019, but to be fair, that was around the time the league started dealing with serious attendance and ratings issues, so I think people will understand. What’s clear is that Kia Picanto came close to reaching the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals that year, and Alston was the main reason why.

Despite playing just 11 games, Alston ranks in the top ten among Terrafirma imports in every major statistical category, both in totals and averages. That alone is impressive for a franchise where the bar has never been particularly high. What makes it even crazier is that he grabbed that many rebounds while standing just 6-foot-3. He’s also the team’s all-time leader in steals average and ranks second in total steals. To put it simply, Alston was a power forward trapped in a point guard’s body.

He didn’t stay long, but when you consider the constant issues Terrafirma had as a franchise, it’s no surprise that someone like Alston could rise this high on the all-time imports list.

2 | JAMES WHITE

17 GAMES | 25.76 PPG | 14.35 RPG | 1.47 APG | 0.82 SPG | 2.12 BPG

WIN-LOSS RECORD | 7-10

James White’s 41 percent winning record ranks fifth all-time among Terrafirma imports, which is pretty wild considering that most PBA teams, aside from maybe NorthPort and Blackwater, would find that stat unacceptable. Still, White holds the distinction of being the only import in franchise history to lead the team to the quarterfinals.

In the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup, back when the team was known as the Mahindra Enforcer, they finished the eliminations with a 6-5 record, tied with Meralco for fourth place. This forced a playoff to determine who would earn the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. Mahindra ended up losing both the playoff and the quarterfinal match.

White returned the following season looking for redemption, but after a 1-3 start, the team let him go and replaced him with Keith Wright. He later had a short stint with the Phoenix Fuel Masters, though that run also ended after just four games.

His PBA career may not have been ideal, but at least he can say he's the only import who managed to take the team to the next level.

1 | PETER JOHN RAMOS

11 GAMES | 35.91 PPG | 21.18 RPG | 3.00 APG | 1.18 BPG

WIN-LOSS RECORD | 4-7

It turns out that Terrafirma’s very first import also turned out to be their best. PJ Ramos, a 7-foot-4 giant from Puerto Rico, was selected 32nd overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2004 NBA Draft. He was picked ahead of future NBA champion Trevor Ariza, as well as former PBA imports Andre Emmett and Tim Pickett, and even Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player Marcus Douthit.

Ramos was exactly what Kia needed. With his towering presence, he made June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter look undersized and overwhelmed anyone who tried to slow him down. What’s more impressive is how Kia, under his leadership, was actually feared for a time. They racked up wins over heavyweights like San Miguel, Talk N Text, Purefoods, and Alaska—even with a local lineup that wouldn’t turn heads on paper.

And while some imports, like Daniel Orton, mocked the PBA for allowing Manny Pacquiao to suit up, Ramos actually embraced the experience. He enjoyed playing under the then-playing coach and showed no signs of treating the stint as a joke.

Ramos never returned to the league after that run, although he also had a stint with the ABL's Alab Pilipinas.

He eventually retired from basketball in 2020 and took a sharp turn in his career path by becoming a professional wrestler. Under the ring name “Mr. Beast” or “Beast Mode,” PJ Ramos took his talents from the hardwood to the squared circle.

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So there you have it—my list of the five greatest Terrafirma Dyip imports of all time. It wasn’t easy to narrow things down, especially with a team that hasn’t had much postseason success to go around. Still, there were a few more names that came close to making the cut. John Fields, Jordan Williams, Akeem Wright, Augustus Gilchrist, and Hamady N'Diaye all had flashes of brilliance but just fell short of cracking the top five.

As tempting as it is to make a “worst imports” list, I’ll probably skip that one. Most of the time, that conversation ends up including the Asian imports, and it's not really fair to judge them harshly. The format and expectations in the PBA usually place the heavy load on U.S.-based reinforcements, which means the Asian players are often asked to play complementary roles instead of being stat-sheet stuffers.

Anyway, that’s it for now.

Agree with the list?

Got your own top five? Let’s hear it.

Game over.