It's Okosa for Barako in quarters

Explosive import Rodney White quietly left town last Monday supposedly to attend to his ailing father in the US and replacement Reggie Okosa just as inconspicuously flew in the next day to take his spot on the Barako Bull roster in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Barako coach Junel Baculi waited for White to show up last Friday but the Detroit Pistons’ first round pick in the 2001 draft never arrived. The door is still open for White to return and if Barako hurdles Alaska in the quarterfinals starting today, he might be recalled – depending on how Okosa performs.

Barako posted a 4-5 record in the eliminations, tying Powerade and Meralco for fifth place. The Bulls got a break and took an outright ticket to the quarters by virtue of a +17 point differential compared to Powerade’s +2 and Meralco’s -19. Last Friday, Meralco beat Powerade for the last seat in the playoff bus.

Safely in the semifinals are No. 1 Talk ‘N’ Text with a 7-2 mark and Ginebra which booked the ticket after taking out B-Meg in a playoff last Friday. In the best-of-three quarterfinals, Barako faces Alaska and B-Meg battles Meralco.

Baculi, assistant coach Bong Ramos and Barako cager Don Allado confirmed it will be Okosa in uniform in the quarters opener against Alaska in the curtain raiser of the Smart Araneta Coliseum doubleheader today. Okosa has big shoes to fill as White averaged 29.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists in five games for the Bulls. White erupted for 42 against Talk ‘N’ Text and 41 against Petron. Barako was 3-2 with White in harness.

Okosa, a Nigerian, is a 6-10, 240-pound journeyman who has played in Chile, Argentina, Germany, China, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Taiwan. In the NCAA Division I, Okosa saw action in two seasons with Virginia Commonwealth and one with La Salle. He made a name for himself at Claymont High School in Delaware, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds to earn Gatorade Player of the Year honors.

How Okosa will do against Alaska’s Goliath-like import Adam Parada remains to be seen. Barako trounced the Aces, 98-78, in the eliminations but the Bulls import was still DerMarr Johnson and Parada had little to show. Parada has since rebounded to lead Alaska to five wins and coach Joel Banal’s squad enters the playoffs winning two of its last three.

* * * *

Meralco’s entry in the quarterfinals is significant as the Bolts were nearly given up for dead after a 1-4 start. Meralco is in the playoffs of a conference with imports for the first time. Coach Ryan Gregorio is hoping for big things to happen as the Bolts have never made it to the semifinals since joining the league last season.

Gregorio’s renewed confidence in Asi Taulava, the league’s senior statesman at 39, as a starter is a huge reason why Meralco is enjoying a hot streak – the Bolts have won their last two games with The Rock averaging 16 points, 9.5 rebounds and 38 minutes. Before those two games, Taulava averaged only 11 minutes. Combining Taulava with Earl Barron to form a Twin Towers tandem was the key in downing Air21, 101-91, and Powerade, 102-98. Overall, Meralco has now won four of its last five moving into the quarterfinals against Gregorio’s previous team B-Meg.

“We did our best and God took care of the rest,” said Gregorio after the Bolts edged the Tigers in a knockout game last Friday. “If we hurdle B-Meg, then forward we go on to the semis (against Ginebra). Facing B-Meg is just like facing any other team in the league. I have detached myself from them the moment I transferred to Meralco. I acknowledge the fact that they are strong but with our commitment to defense, we surely have a crack.”

Gregorio made special mention of Taulava’s return to form. “Asi has played awesome the past two games,” he said. “It was a blessing in disguise that I wasn’t using him early. Now, he has a lot of gas left in his tank. With him playing defense, Earl can focus on weak-side rebounding and scoring.”

* * * *

As for the big win over Powerade last Friday, Gregorio said he had five missions for the Bolts to accomplish and they got the job done. “First, extinguish the fiery hands of Gary David,” he said. “Sure, he had 20 points but he shot 5 of 24 from the field. Second, silence Super Marcio (Lassiter). Even if he had 20 points, I felt he bled for every basket. Third, shock and awe Jvee Casio. We were hounding him from the opening tip ‘til the end using our body to take away his energy. Fourth, lock down and contain Dwayne Jones. And fifth, nothing easy for Sean Anthony.”

Gregorio said the Bolts were determined to play tenacious defense because it wouldn’t make sense to try matching Powerade basket for basket. Before the game, Powerade averaged 101.4 points and Meralco, 92.3. On defense, Meralco gave up 90.7 a game and Powerade, 99.7. The Bolts’ defense forced 15 Powerade turnovers which Meralco turned into 14 points. Gregorio’s defensive orientation was evident in the stats as the Tigers were held to only 36.4 percent field goal shooting. The barnacle job also fueled Meralco’s transition attack which delivered 26 fastbreak points to Powerade’s 13.

“Nice to make it to the quarters after starting with a 1-4 mark,” continued Gregorio. “With our lock-down defensive mentality, we turned it around with a 4-1 mark in our last five games. We’ll need to defend if we want to beat B-Meg and go the next level.”