Nate admits Willie's handsomer

Do Barangay Ginebra import Nate Brumfield and teammate Willie Miller really look alike? Brumfield doesn’t think so but Miller jokingly introduces the burly Oklahoma Baptist standout as his big brother.

Asked who’s better looking, Brumfield smiled and said Miller is.

Last Friday, Brumfield had more reason to smile. He matched his conference-high of 32 points in powering the Kings to a 107-92 drubbing of Powerade in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup contest at the Araneta Coliseum. The victory snapped Ginebra’s two-game losing skid and put the Kings back on the winning track.

Brumfield, 24, got off to a slow start with four points in the first period then erupted for 13 in the second. It was smooth sailing from then on. Brumfield finished with 12 rebounds and three assists. Displaying a remarkable workrate, he shot 32 points in 31 minutes. Brumfield was virtually unstoppable close to the basket as he made mincemeat of Powerade’s interior defense, exposing the Tigers’ woeful lack of size. He shot 60 percent from the field.

Modest and soft-spoken, Brumfield doesn’t brag about his collegiate achievements. He led Oklahoma Baptist to the NAIA Division I championship last year and was the only player among 480 to compile at least 100 points in five games during the playoffs. But when asked to elaborate on his exploits, he didn’t say much.

What about his tag “Nate the Great?” “That’s just a name,” he said politely as if embarrassed by the reference.

On playing for the PBA’s most popular team, Brumfield said he’s just happy to be on a team that works together. “I don’t mind the pressure,” he went on. “If they got me because of my championship tradition, that’s fine but it won’t add any more pressure on me. I’m looking forward to the playoffs. In my school, our stadium isn’t too big (the Noble Complex has a 2,500-seat capacity). So it’ll be a thrill if we get to play before over 10,000 fans.”

Brumfield cited teammates Rudy Hatfield and Eric Menk as hard-working veterans. “They’re from Michigan and the way they play, it’s like they’re playing for the (Detroit) Pistons,” said Brumfield.

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Powerade’s Russell Carter was missing in action and wound up with only seven points, the lowest output by an import in the conference so far. He took five attempts from three-point distance and only one from two-point range, often settling for jumpers instead of driving strong to the hoop.

“It’s physical in the PBA,” said Carter. “I get two or three guys defending me. In my first four games, 99 of my 112 shots were contested, usually with a hand on my face. But that’s okay. I’ll do what I can for my team. I think the PBA is one of the world’s most underrated leagues. There’s a lot of talent in the PBA – athletic players, great shooters. It’s kind of unique to have a height limit for imports but it’s a great way to level the playing field. Except in the case of (Marcus) Douthit who’s 6-10 and very athletic.”

Carter, 25, said he comes from a football-playing family. “My father (Russell Sr.) played football at the University of Pittsburgh then in the pros in Germany,” he continued. “My uncle George Jamison played football at Cincinnati and my cousin Sean Redman at Penn State. I’m the only basketball player in the family. My father taught me to shoot from way out when I was growing up. That’s how I developed range on my shot. I used to throw them up from beyond the NBA arc. My father wanted me to develop my range to anticipate playing against the zone. I guess my father was pretty smart.”

It was his father who called him the “Angelic Prince” – tattooed on his left bicep with a sketch of Carter playing in his high school uniform. He has other tattoos on his body. His mother’s name Tina is tattooed on his right wrist and his grandmother’s name on his left. On his right bicep are Chinese inscriptions of “Fear No Man” – his first tattoo – under a big Aries sign. He has Arabian writing on his finger saying “I love America” and on his chest saying “love and passion.”

Carter singled out Joe De Vance and Jay Washington as two examples of PBA cagers who can play in the NBA D-League. “De Vance has good size and Washington is very skilled,” he said. “But I don’t think they’ll move out of the PBA to go to the NBA D-League. They make good money in the PBA.”

Carter played at Notre Dame University and finished his career 17 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark. Notre Dame was the school that produced former Crispa import Peter Crotty, New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams and NBA veterans Adrian Dantley, Bill Laimbeer, Austin Carr, John Paxson, Kelly Tripucka and John Shumate. As a senior in 2006-07, Carter averaged 17.1 points. He shot a varsity career-high 32 points against St. John’s University.

Carter said his fiancée Erica will join him in Manila within the week. They plan to get married soon.

Asked if he’s worried about being replaced, Carter said that’s not something under his control. “I’ll worry about things that I can control,” he said.

At the moment, Powerade is in serious danger of elimination with a 1-4 record. The bottom four teams will be struck out at the end of the single-round eliminations. In the updated standings, San Miguel Beer (1-2) is No. 7, Air 21 (1-3) No. 8, Powerade No. 9 and Meralco (0-4) No. 10.

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The Bolts shipped out import Tony Danridge and brought in Chamberlain (Champ) Oguchi to play against Talk ‘N’ Text last Friday. The switch failed to end Meralco’s winless streak as the Texters prevailed, 109-106, despite Oguchi’s 43 points, including 8-of-17 triples.

Oguchi, 24, did everything he could to lift the Bolts over the hump but Meralco continued to struggle with chemistry issues. The Bolts committed 16 errors to Talk ‘N’ Text’s nine and the Texters scored 25 turnover points to Meralco’s 13.

Oguchi is a prolific shooter who played with former PBA imports Julius Nwosu, Jeff Varem and Gabe Muoneke on the Nigerian national squad at the 2006 World Championships. He holds the Pacific 10 record of 26 triples converted in four games in the NCAA tournament.

Nicknamed “Champ,” Oguchi said his George Bush high school coach coined it because he found Chamberlain too long. One of four children, Oguchi was born to Nigerian parents Godwin and Pearl in Houston and has dual citizenship. He played three seasons for the University of Oregon then finished his varsity career at Illinois State, averaging 15.2 points in 2008-09. Oguchi scored 10.2 points a game for the Maine Red Claws in the NBA D-League before moving to Meralco.

Other import newcomers are Air 21’s Alpha Bangura and San Miguel Beer’s David Young. Bangura bumped off journeyman Geremy Robinson who suited up for Spring Cooking Oil in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in 2002. Young took over from Ira Brown. Young, 29, was the Seattle SuperSonics second round pick in the 2004 NBA draft out of Xavier and North Carolina Central.