DaJuan Summers. External Source
SANTO DOMINGO.-Former NBA player DaJuan Summers will reinforce the Rafael Barias Club in the 48th version of the National District Men’s Superior Basketball Tournament (TBS DISTRITO), which opens on the night of this Friday the 13th at the Ricardo-Gioriver-Arias Volleyball Palace in the capital.
Summers is a 6’8″ and 235-pound forward who played for four teams in the prestigious American basketball league (Pistons, Hornets, Clippers and Knicks) and also has vast international experience in Europe.
“He is a versatile player at position 3 who can also play very well at position 4. He has a good long and mid-range shot, with an excellent ability to act both with his back to the basket and in front of it,” said Juan María Guillén, president of the Doctor Rafael Barias club, regarding the acquisition of Summers.
Meanwhile, Rafael Barias manager Julio Duquela praised Summers’ signing and highlighted the contribution that the American can make to the team in yellow and black.
“With these two tall signings, plus the veterans we have and the core of young players, we can go out and compete again and seek the crown that our fans so desire. It won’t be easy because all the teams have become stronger, but we are extremely confident in this group of players who are eager to win,” said Duquela.
The 36-year-old American, native of Baltimore, Maryland, played for three seasons with the Georgetown Hoyas, with whom he advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, in one of the three seasons he had with that higher education institution before being selected by the Detroit Pistons, in the thirty-fifth position of the 2009 NBA Draft.
In the summer of 2011, he decided to go to Europe and signed with Mens Sana Siena of the Italian Serie A, where he only played three games, before later signing with the Hornets.
In the NBA, he played for the Detroit Pistons from 2009 to 2011; the New Orleans Hornets in 2011 and 2012; the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013, the New York Knicks in 2015, and the Maine Celtics (known until 2021 as the Maine Red Claws), affiliated with the Boston Celtics.
He has international experience with Mens Sana Siena of Italy, with BC Budivelnyk of Ukraine, with Herbalife Gran Canaria in the ACB of Spain, with Pınar Karşıyaka SK Izmir and Galatasaray, both from Turkey; with Metropolitans 92 of France and Indios de Mayagüez in Puerto Rico, among others.
Summers joins his compatriot, center-forward Marlon Johnson, as reinforcements for the Villa Consuelo team for the upcoming TBS DISTRITO 2024, where the Barianos will be looking for their fifth crown in the capital competition.
Barias, the district’s superior basketball champion in 2009, its debut year in the competition; 2013, 2017 and 2019, is in Group B along with Barrio Mejoramiento Social (BAMESO), San Carlos and Los Prados, while in Group A, there will be the current champions Mauricio Báez, from Villa Juana; San Lázaro (Jobo Bonito), Huellas del Siglo (Cristo Rey) and El Millón.
