PONCE - Leones de Ponce announced center Tanoka Beard as their second import for the 2009 Baloncesto Superior Nacional season that starts in April.

Beard already has experience in the league by playing in 2008 with Brujos de Guayama and then Cariduros de Fajardo. In 27 games (15 with Guayama) he averaged 16.1 points and 11 rebounds.

The 37 year old player is playing in Estonia for Tartu University Rock who own a 16-1 record in their league. In eleven games he averages 11.55 points and 6.44 rebounds. In the FIBA Eurocup he averages 16.4 points and 8.5 rebounds in 8 games.

His resumé is impressive starting in the NCAA where he graduated from Boise State University. His international career started in Italy with Burghy Roma. He has also played in Turkey, Spain, France, Russia, Lithuania and Israel.

In the ACB of Spain he was the MVP in 1999 with Real Madrid and in 2002 with Juventut de Baladona. In Lithuania he was the national league MVP with Zalgiris Kaunas and the 2005 MVP of the Final Four in the Baltic League. He won championships in Ulker (1994-1995), Juventut (1996-1997, Copa del Rey) and Zalgiris Kaunas (2003-2007).

The front office will decide between DerMarr Johnson and James White to fill the second import spot. White is currently playing in the NBA with Houston and are still waiting to see if he stays for the rest of the year.

The team coached by Carlos Mario Rivera will have Bobby Joe Hatton, Ricky Meléndez, Ricky Sánchez, Gabriel "Pirulo" Colón, Raúl Orta, Jorge Lebrón, Héctor Zayas, José "Yoyo" Rosario, José Méndez, among others.

Ponce is the winningest team in BSN history with 1,067 wins and is third in championships with twelve. The top two champions are Bayamon (13) and San German (14).