San Miguel taps scoring machine King for PBA Governors’ Cup

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The San Miguel Beermen are taking a different route by tapping the offensive-minded George King for the upcoming PBA Governors’ Cup, set to begin on July 10, 2026.

After a disappointing campaign in the last import-laden conference with Bennie Boatwright as their reinforcement, San Miguel is looking to redeem itself in the PBA Governors’ Cup, hoping that the explosive scorer can help end its championship drought.

The Beermen were able to acquire King after the Blackwater Bossing, his former mother franchise, didn’t renew his playing contract and released his rights in the PBA.

That then made King an official unrestricted free agent, which San Miguel immediately took advantage of after luring him to a deal.

King was a former second-round pick by the Phoenix Suns during the 2018 NBA Rookie Draft but spent most of his time with the Northern Arizona Suns after being relegated to the NBA G League.

A year after playing a season in the G League, King started to receive several overseas import offers and began his career in Italy with the Aquila Basket Trento club.

He then moved to Poland’s Basket Zielona Gora, where he won the Polish Basketball League championship in 2020.

King’s stock quickly skyrocketed after leading his Polish club to a title, earning him another contract with the Niners Chemnitz in the German Bundesliga.

Before landing in Blackwater in the 2024-25 PBA season, King’s last stops were with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia and Ironi Ness Ziona in Israel.

King was nothing but spectacular the moment he donned the red and black threads of the Bossing after averaging 34.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per contest.

Perhaps his most notable performance was detonating for a franchise scoring record of 64 points, where he led Blackwater to a 139-118 win over Yeng Guiao’s Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

However, King’s individual brilliance failed to lead the Bossing to postseason success.

During last year’s import-laced conference, Blackwater finished as a cellar-dwelling team with a 3-9 win-loss record.

Can King reverse the fortunes and lead the Beermen back to the PBA pedestal?