Former Iloilo United Royal sniper Tamsi activated in PBA

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

One of the main gunners of the Iloilo United Royals who joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) two years ago made his return to the PBA.

Al Francis Tamsi, who just won a championship with the KCS-Mandaue team in the VisMin Super Cup, was called up by his mother team Phoenix Super LPG and was activated in the roster against the NorthPort Batang Pier.

With Chris Banchero still unavailable to play due to an injury, Phoenix decided to call their next man up in Tamsi.

He’s our 16th man. Activated for the game against Northport since di pa kaya ni Chris (Banchero),” Team manager Paolo Bugia confirmed.

Tamsi saw action wearing the Phoenix uniform for 3:35 and was called up by head coach Topex Robinson for defensive purposes against NorthPort’s Robert Bolick.

The veteran two-way player was one of the key pieces to Iloilo’s playoff run during the previous MPBL season and was one of their most reliable offensive players.

In his tenure with KCS in the VisMin Cup, Tamsi also delivered one of his best games and chipped in 11 points in the championship-clinching game.

Tamsi is no stranger to the big boys’ league and was once a member of the TNT Tropang Giga from 2016-2018 before joining Iloilo in the MPBL.