By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
So the rumors were true.
After announcing his departure from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and his team Phoenix Fuel Masters, superstar Matthew Wright confirmed that he will be heading to the Japan B. League.
The crafty scorer will be rendering his services to the Japanese basketball club Kyoto Hannaryz and will immediately play in the upcoming 2022-2023 B. League season.
Wright’s contract expired at the end of August that officially ended his six-year relationship with the Fuel Masters since getting drafted fourth overall last 2016.
The Filipino-Canadian sniper will go down as one of the best players Phoenix signed into a multi-year contract and was a two-time PBA All-Star MVP, a Mythical First Team member once, and was also a member of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team.
Before leaving the PBA, Wright still impressed during his PBA Philippine Cup season outing after averaging 15.0 points, 5.9 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.
Upon arriving in Japan, Wright will reunite with his Gilas Pilipinas brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., and Justine Baltazar who are also playing under the Asian player quota rule.
Kiefer is playing for the Shiga Lakestars, Thirdy for the NeoPhoenix, Ramos for Hokkaido, Parks Jr. for Nagoya, and Baltazar for the Hiroshima Dragonflies.
“I am excited to embark on this new journey and looking forward to reuniting with coach Roy Rana. I’m eager to help take this team to the next level and build a winning culture with the organization. Thank you to all the supporters and I look forward seeing you at the games,” Wright said.
Wright will be joining a Kyoto squad eager to improve and finally clinch a playoff seat after ending the last season with a disappointing 14-43 win-loss record.
