Will Cooke come back?

New York City playground phenom Lenny Cooke wants to play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) again. And Los Angeles-based Filipino import recruiter Mike Gonzalez says he’s hoping Purefoods gives the 6-4 hotshot another chance.

Gonzalez says Cookie is willing to fly in without a guaranteed contract. All he’s asking for is a chance to try out, adds Gonzalez. If Cookie fails to impress, he’ll be on the first flight back to the US.

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio is reportedly thinking about bringing in Cooke and checking if he’s ready to play.

In the 2003 Reinforced Conference, Cooke made an auspicious PBA debut. He averaged 37.9 points and 17.1 rebounds to lead the league in both categories. Cooke came in as a replacement for Harold Arceneaux after the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs got off to a lowly 1-5 start. Purefoods rode on Cooke’s heroics to finish the eliminations at 4-9 and won three of its last four to force a playoff for a quarterfinals slot against Alaska.

Cooke shone brightest when he compiled 42 points, 26 rebounds, nine assists and four steals in Purefoods’ 92-83 win over Shell to end the eliminations on a high note.

In the playoff, Purefoods lost a big lead when Cooke was sidelined due to cramps and Alaska won, 93-88. Cooke limped off the court with 29 points.

Cooke was back in a Purefoods uniform for the Fiesta Conference last year but played in only a game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in 27 minutes before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the Hot Dogs’ 84-80 squeaker over Coca-Cola. Dr. George Canlas performed surgery on Cooke at the St. Luke’s hospital.

Cooke, 23, recovered from the injury and played for the Long Beach Jam in the American Basketball Association (ABA) until he broke his left shin and femur in a single-car accident in Beverly Hills last December.

Cooke and Long Beach teammate Nick Sheppard were driving home from dinner at 1 a.m. when their car hit a lightpost. Sheppard, who was behind the wheel, escaped with only minor cuts and bruises because he was strapped with a seatbelt. Cooke was not strapped.

Cooke underwent two operations at Cedar Sinai hospital to repair the damage on his shin and femur. Doctors later said he would be able to resume his playing career.

Cooke has fond memories of the PBA and would like nothing better than to stage his comeback here.

Gonzalez says the only big investment in flying Cooke over is the round trip air fare. "He’s a great guy and a great athlete who deserves another chance," says Gonzalez.

Meanwhile, PBA veteran Artemus (Tee) McClary planes in early this morning to play for Alaska in the Sultan’s Cup in Brunei. After landing here, McClary will take another flight with the Aces to Brunei where Alaska is booked to play its first game tomorrow.

McClary was being considered by Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis but Alaska quickly signed him up when negotiations to fly in Damien Cantrell fell through.

The word was Cantrell’s agent wouldn’t agree to a monthly salary of $12,000–which is the PBA cap for imports.

McClary, 31, left the Reales de la Vega club in the Dominican Republic league when he wasn’t paid his salary despite leading the team to the finals. He flew back to his Florida home, was contacted by Gonzalez and agreed to play in the PBA.

"He’s excited to come back," says Gonzalez. "Jeffrey (Cariaso) likes him a lot. They won championships at Mobiline and Coca-Cola. Now, they’ll be playing together again at Alaska. He’s a tested championship player. That’s why coach Tim (Cone) got him."

McClary’s arrival shut the door on Galen Young who was also in Alaska’s early wish list.

Another balik-import is La Salle’s Victor Thomas who led Red Bull to the Fiesta Conference Finals against Barangay Ginebra last year. Thomas will be back for the Barakos.

Thomas, 26, played for Sta. Lucia Realty in 2002, averaging 21.6 points and 6.9 rebounds. But it was with Red Bull where he made an impact. He averaged 28.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 43.8 minutes in 17 games for the Barakos. Thomas was Red Bull’s fifth import that conference after Carlos Wheeler, Bingo Merriex, Doug Wrenn, DeAngelo Collins and Corey Hightower.

From Red Bull, Thomas took his sneakers to the Argentinian league where he averaged 20.6 points and 4.7 rebounds for Club River Plate of Buenos Aires.

In other import news, former Seattle and Golden State forward Ansu Sesay may just play another conference for Sta. Lucia after stints in 2000 and 2001. Sesay, 29, was the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) player of the year in 2002 and earned $638,000 with the Sonics in 2003-04. Last season, he played 16 games for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

Two would-be imports waiting for takers are rebounding dervish Rodney Bias and sweet-shooting Marshall Phillips.

Bias, 25, averaged 20.1 points and 18.1 rebounds at Shelton State in 2001 and won Alabama junior college player of the year honors in the process. He has played the last three seasons for Huntsville in the NBDL. Bias led the NBDL in field goal percentage at .614 and was second in rebounding with a 12.9 norm last campaign.

"Bias is like Ben Wallace," says Gonzalez. "He’s not a big scorer although he should be good for at least 15 points a game. But he’s a monster rebounder. He’s listed 6-9, 240. But he’ll make the 6-6 limit for sure."

Phillips, 29, is a 6-5 rifleman who averaged 19.4 points and shot .415 from the three-point range for Rockford in the Continental Basketball Association last season. He averaged 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds as a senior at Appalachian State in 1999. Phillips has also played in Mexico, Italy and Puerto Rico.