POWERADE may have been dominated in the Philippine Cup finals. But no less than the head coach of the PBA’s most recent title-holder is bracing for a dominating tournament from the Tigers.

“Next conference they’re going to be very, very strong,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes.  “They have an excellent import. Now they have a big guy to go with their fantastic wingmen, so that’s going to be a really, really strong team.”

That player is Dwayne Jones, Powerade’s reinforcement for the Commissioner’s Cup that kicks off on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Jones just happens to be an NBA veteran having the best credential among the 10 imports set to see action in the league’s second conference.

The 6-foot-10 slotman played for seven teams in the NBA – Boston, Minnesota, Orlando, Cleveland, Charlotte, Toronto and Phoenix. He last played in the NBA in 2010 before moving to China with the Fujian SBS Xunxing ball club.

Jones is the import Powerade hopes could provide dominance in the shaded lane, the area the Tigers are weakest.

The thing is, will Jones be able to match up with the rest? And will Powerade be motivated enough to play in the midst of its much-discussed sale to the San Miguel group and the trade of Marcio Lassiter to Petron currently awaiting approval from Commissioner Chito Salud?

Two returning imports, one naturalized player who played for the national team and six other reinforcements will spice up the Commissioner’s Cup, a tournament where teams are allowed to field imports with unlimited height.

Adam Parada, who guided Red Bull to a semi-finals stint in 2008, has returned to lead Alaska, one of two teams that missed the playoffs in the Philippine Cup.

The other balik-import is Chris Alexander, the 7-foot-1 notorious shot-blocker who guided Ginebra to its last championship in 2008 against Air21 in an epic seven-game series of the Fiesta Conference.

Marcus Douthit will be the import to watch. The naturalized player of the Gilas national team will banner Air21, formerly Shopinas.com, the team that failed to win a single game in the season-opening tournament (14 matches).

Defending champion Talk ‘N Text has tapped  Omar Hassan Samhan, a 6-foot-11 defensive player. Samhan has been in the country since the Finals of the Philippine Cup began.

“All our attention is focused on making another run in the Commissioner’s Cup,” Reyes said. “I hope we can find our way there (Finals) again.”

B-Meg, the team that flopped in the Philippine Cup after losing a twice-to-beat advantage against Powerade in the quarter-finals, will field Denzel Bowles. Bowles is a product of James Madison University who averaged 17.6 points and 8.8 rebounds in 2010-11.

DerMarr Johnson is the one Barako Bull has decided to hire and with good reason. He stands 6-foot-9, and was once a sixth overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA in 2000.

Duke Crews, meantime, has replaced an NBA veteran in Jake Voskuhl for Rain or Shine. Crews will be the shortest import at 6-foot-8, but the Painters are hardly worried.

“We need an import who can score and post up,” said Rain or Shine assistant coach Caloy Garcia. “Voskuhl is a solid defender, but the problem we saw with him is his offensive game.”

Meralco, who gave up Mark Isip and Nelbert Omolon to Air21 for the Express’s 2012 first-round pick, Dennis Daa and Mark Canlas, will have Jelani McCoy, a 6-foot-10 power forward who suited up for the Seattle Supersonics, LA Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets from 1998 to 2007.

Petron, which lost a 3-1 series lead to Talk ‘N Text in the semi-finals of the Philippine Cup, has tapped the services of Nicholas Fazekas. Fazekas is a 6-11 player who is one of only six players in US NCAA history to collect 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.