New import for Shell

It won’t be easy filling the shoes of Shell import Marek Ondera but Turbochargers coach John Moran hopes that Brian Wethers — who arrived late last night— — is up to the task of battling Bingo Merriex and the Red Bull Barako in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference at the Big Dome tonight.

Shell’s coming off a rousing 94-91 win over Purefoods in General Santos City last Thursday. Moran was euphoric after the breakthrough, his first victory in the PBA. He was concerned that a third straight loss would mean aborting his six-month program to turn the Turbochargers’ fortunes around.

What made the win more significant was it came with Ondera sitting on the bench. He hurt his right ankle in the third period and sat out the entire last quarter as the locals took up the cudgels to score the come-from-behind triumph.

There were tears in Moran’s eyes as he hugged team manager Bobby Kanapi and assistant Vicky Araneta at the final buzzer. In that brief moment, the hard work became worth it. The critics — who scorned Moran for benching Rich Alvarez in the season opener, chastised him for those midnight practices and ridiculed him for installing a pure motion offense with no set plays — were suddenly silenced.

Wethers, 23, isn’t tall. He’ll probably measure less than 6-4 when PBA physician Dr. Ben Salud sizes him up this afternoon. Wethers played four years at the University of California-Berkeley then suited up in Germany and China as an import. So he’s coming in with some international experience.

Ondera is under observation by doctors. He suffered only a slight tear in his ankle ligament and it’s likely he’ll be able to play before long. Wethers is a temporary replacement but you’ll never know. If Wethers impresses, he might just stick.

Wethers, who has a gunslinger’s reputation, averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Murietta Valley high school in California in 1998-99. He was ranked the No. 25 prospect by college recruiters that season.

As a college freshman in 1999-2000, Wethers hit at a 5.5 clip and struggled offensively. He was scoreless in his NCAA debut. Coach Ben Braun offered a measure of consolation by commenting that he at least played solid defense. A teammate was former PBA import Sean Lampley.

In his sophomore campaign, Wethers started 23 of 31 games as a shooting guard and averaged 8.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 21.5 minutes. He shot 51.7 percent from the field, 43.9 percent from three-point distance and 72.7 percent from the line. Wethers was brilliant in firing 27 points against Arizona State.

"Brian is probably our most explosive player and there are so many ways he can be effective for our team," said Braun. "He’s made big improvements on his jumpshot and his range and that sets up his drive."

The Golden Bears leaned on Lampley and Wethers to post a 20-11 record, qualifying for the NCAA playoffs.

Wethers improved his scoring clip to 10.3 points as a junior. He averaged 15.8 points in his last five outings and shot 19 in California’s NCAA first round playoff win over Penn. Writer Jim Mandelaro said Wethers was "a powerful, athletic presence on the wing" for the Golden Bears varsity.

In Wethers’ senior year, California reached up to the second round of the NCAA playoffs once more, finishing at 22-9 overall. Wethers capped his varsity career by averaging 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 32.1 minutes. He hit 48.8 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from three-point range and 85.3 percent from the stripe.

In his final collegiate contest, Wethers poured in 27 points as California lost to eventual Final Four contender Oklahoma.

After graduation, Wethers attended the Golden State Warriors camp and tore his Achilles tendon. He spent the summer and early fall undergoing therapy then went to Germany and China to pursue his playing career.

Merriex, 23, didn’t compile varsity stats as impressive as Wethers but his numbers weren’t bad at all. He averaged 12.6 points in his last two years at Texas Christian University. Last season, Merriex scored 17.8 points a game for the Texas Rim Rockers in the United States Basketball League. He’s fresh from a stint with the Blue Stars club in Lebanon.

In his PBA debut against Sta. Lucia Realty last week, Merriex compiled 18 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, three steals and a blocked shot in 39 minutes. Red Bull won, 85-84. A bright note in Merriex’ stats was he committed only a single turnover.

All eyes will be on Wethers tonight as fans wonder whether he can weather the storm. You can almost hear the Red Bull fans saying, "weather, weather lang ‘yan."