Comparing players from different generations is often a futile - but fun - exercise. It's impossible to know how a player from 20 or 30 years ago would match up against today's generation. The same holds true for PBA imports. The league has seen dozens of standout imports in its 45 years, from Larry McNeill and Cyrus Mann in its formative seasons, to Norman Black, Billy Ray Bates, and Bobby Parks in the '80s and '90s, to Justin Brownlee and Marqus Blakely in recent times. We'll never know if Bates could beat Brownlee one-on-one, but it sure is fun to think about it.
Every PBA fan has an opinion about these players, so we thought we'd give you, the readers, the chance to be heard. We present to you ESPN5.com's PBA Imports Fantasy Tournament, where you get to vote on hypothetical import match-ups.
We picked 24 imports from across eras and grouped them into two brackets, with eight seeded directly into the second round. The remaining 16 will duke it out in our online polls. One group is for imports six-foot-five and below, the other is for those above that height.
Our writers will preview each matchup, and you get to vote for the winner here on ESPN5.com and via One Sports PH's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
For our first matchup, Charlie Cuna previews an intriguing big man battle between Andy Fields and Terquin Mott.
ANDREW FIELDS
Andrew Fields played for the Toyota franchise in seven conferences from 1979 to 1983. He became one of the first "resident imports", who returned time and again, and there is a reason for that.
When he first played in the PBA at the age of 21, he was a raw, athletic player, who relied much on his physical attributes (leaping ability, long arms, lean and muscular frame), but he also displayed impeccable timing for blocking shots and grabbing rebounds, and enough basketball smarts to know that his teammates were incredible players who liked to run the floor. Fields then realized that he was not on the court to score since many around him could do that. He took to heart being the defensive anchor of the team, and he turned out to be (not so) arguably the best defensive import the PBA has ever had.
On offense, Fields was a high-percentage shooter. He was not creative - he took short jumpers, scored on follow-ups or on drop passes, made short hooks, and shot fairly well from the freethrow line. On the other end, he used his legit 6'8" height to clog the middle and disturb the game plans of opposing teams, making any attempt to penetrate an adventure in which they would probably fail.
He also jumpstarted the offense of Toyota because he had a penchant for blocking shots straight into teammates' hands, enabling them to quickly transition to the other end, as well as one of the quickest and most accurate baseball outlet passes, which led to many fastbreak and easy lay-ups for his thoroughbred teammates.
Fields, who averaged almost 16 rebounds a game in the PBA, was the first official recipient of the Best Import award for the 1981 Open Conference, where he led Toyota to a championship. He probably would have won at least one or two more had the award been given prior to 1981, as he was clearly outstanding in the 1979 Third Conference, and one of the contenders in the 1980 Open.
Fields, the pride of Cheyney State, a Division II university in Pennsylvania, contributed immensely to three Toyota championships and is truly one of the best imports that played in the PBA. He faced smaller and bigger import opponents, and he always held his own - a tribute to his versatility. He was a perfect fit on a powerhouse team, who matched size and smarts, a great attitude, and a willingness to work.
TERQUIN MOTT
Mott was an intimidating figure. Straight-bodied and muscular, with a game-face scowl that surely made at least some opponents cower even before the opening tip, the former Coppin State Eagle first played in the PBA with the Eric Altamirano-led Mobiline Phone Pals in the 1998 Commissioner's Cup as a replacement import for Alex Fraser. Sporting dreadlocks to complete the tough look, Mott was a beast individually in his initial stint, but he could only bring his team to a sixth place finish and elimination in the quarterfinals.
Despite his somewhat surly attitude and penchant for individualistic play (with high numbers), the San Miguel Beermen recruited Mott for the 1999 Commissioner's Cup. With a fresh, team-first attitude and a new haircut, he proved to be a perfect fit. Known even during his university years as an enforcer-type player with a high field-goal percentage and a knack for hauling down rebounds, Terq, as they called him, brought an already-imposing SMB frontline (the two Dannys were there, Ildefonso and Seigle, with Freddie Abuda and newly-acquired Nic Belasco) to greater heights.
Previously listed at 6'8" before being measured at 6'6", the two-inch reduction did nothing to slow him down. Mott, who played center in the US NCAA, operated mostly inside the painted area to about 15 feet. He had an effective turn-around jumper, oftentimes shot with only one hand (and he had huge hands!), and he loved to force his way to the basket, effectively using his broad shoulders to clear the way.
In his three stints as a PBA import, the highly-intense Mott, who had a volatile personality (think of an earlier, toned-down version of TNT import Ivan Johnson), had several run-ins with locals and fellow imports alike.
In 2002, coming in as a replacement for San Miguel import Art Long, Mott was fined heftily for choking then Red Bull import Antonio Lang in the midst of a heated semi-final series. There is no denying, however, his effectiveness and talent.
As an effective intimidator and high-scorer for Coach Jong Uichico, Mott led the Beermen to a championship in his first SMB stint, which ended in a 4-2 Finals series triumph against the Formula Shell Zoom Masters, led by import John Best. He garnered the Best Import award for the conference. As earlier mentioned, he returned one last time in 2002 but was not able to haul his squad to another championship.
Who wins this matchup, Andrew Fields or Terquin Mott? Cast your vote below!