To say that the Macau Giant Pandas are a disappointment is putting it mildly. They have been a disappointment, if not an outright embarrassment. And now, they’re about to get worse—way worse.
Already short on high‑caliber players and relying on a rotation of mostly seven, the Giant Pandas are set to enter the PBA Governors’ Cup restart without two of their key contributors, Jenning Leung and Ramon Cao. Both left Macau to sign with Hong Kong Eastern, which is currently competing in the Hong Kong A1 Division. Eastern announced the twin signings on Thursday.
Exodus of Giant Pandas
The departure of Cao and Leung should hurt the Giant Pandas most on offense. Cao was the team’s third‑leading scorer (17.3 points per game), while Leung ranked fifth (12.3 points). They were also two of Macau’s top playmakers—Leung offering three‑level scoring and nifty passing (3.3 assists), and Cao providing outside shooting and occasional post‑ups.
Cao’s exit further depletes Macau’s frontline. At 6‑foot‑8, he had been the Giant Pandas’ best frontcourt presence, contributing points, rebounds (7.8 per game), and the dirty work in the paint.
Complicating matters is the status of prolific point guard Damian Chong Qui, who has reportedly signed with Macau Hou Chon ahead of the upcoming EASL season. The same team also signed former Black Knight Phoenix Shackelford, making it highly unlikely Macau will get him back, even to finish the conference.
The PBA Should Just Pull the Plug
With two key players exiting and a third one potentially out as well, it makes little sense to keep the Giant Pandas playing in the PBA anymore. The reasoning behind inviting a guest team over is supposedly to bring high-level competition in hopes of raising the league’s quality of play. It’s hard to see how a team with only two really good players—import De’Vondre Perry and Kobey Lam—doing that.
In other words, there’s no use for a team that can’t really serve it’s purpose. They already sucked last conference. There probably was no reason to bring them back again anyways.
To that end, pulling the plug on the Giant Pandas isn’t an act of mercy but a sensible decision. It will save a lot of people a lot of trouble. PBA fans won’t have to be force-fed trash basketball. PBA teams won’t have to expand unnecessary energy facing an unserious franchise. And, perhaps most important, Macau’s players and coaching staff can all go home without further humiliation.
It’s time to do the right thing here, PBA. It’s time to do the right thing.
