PUREFOODS coach Ryan Gregorio didn?t give Brian Hamilton a second look at first. He was not fascinated by the credentials of Hamilton, a National Basketball Association veteran, who played for the New Jersey Nets.

But on Sunday night, Hamilton made Gregorio a believer as the import debuted with a triple-double performance, the first among the imports since Dennis Williams achieved such a feat for Shell 13 years ago.

?I must admit, I haven?t really given Hamilton a second look. But after tonight?s impressive performance, I do now,? said Gregorio, who didn?t reveal whether or not he has a standby import in mind. ?I really liked what I saw and the players loved him.?

The 6?6? Hamilton stood out tallest among the frontliners with his 22 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists as the Tender Juicy Giants pulled off a 131-121 rout of the Talk N Text Tropang Texters.

The Giants took advantage of a visibly out-of-shape Tropang Texters? side, which just didn?t have the energy to compete in the latter stage of the game against a souped-up Purefoods team that has done a lot of retooling prior to the start of the conference.

James Yap has been his usual self scoring 33 points, but it was the much-needed support from new recruit Don Allado, mainstays PJ Simon, Roger Yap, Enrico Villanueva and Kerby Raymundo and the intensity provided by Hamilton that spelled the big difference for the Giants? win.

All seven players finished in double figures.

?Part of the pre-game talk was to wear them down, because we know they were still in a hangover phrase after winning the All-Filipino championship,? said Gregorio. ?Our team right now has gotten better and I can give James and Kerby their much-awaited reward?more rest.? Rey Joble