Meralco Bolts stand by Pickett line

MANILA, Philippines - Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio will stick with import Tim Pickett as the Bolts try to improve their chances to advance to the PBA Governors Cup semifinals. At the moment, Meralco is tied with Rain Or Shine in third place with identical 3-2 records but they part ways in a crucial face-off at the Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Pickett, 30, took over from Champ Oguchi on an experimental basis in the Bolts’ game against Air21 last Wednesday and delivered an eye-popping performance. He finished with 32 points, including 6-of-9 triples, 11 rebounds and four assists in 42 minutes as Meralco trounced the Express, 93-86. The showing was enough to convince Gregorio which import to lean on the rest of the conference.

“The things that Tim brings to the table are the requirements that we need considering our lack of depth in the two-guard and point guard spots,” said Gregorio, referring to the continuing absence of injured backcourt mainstays Mac-Mac Cardona and Chris Ross. “He’s not just a volume shooter but a scorer with accuracy. He has a complete offensive package but his major impact is his ability to bring the ball down, set the table and give Sol (Mercado) some rest.”

Pickett was held to only two points in the fourth period of the Air21 game as exhaustion finally caught up and Express forward Niño Canaleta’s length became a problem. But Mercado, who opted to defer to Pickett in the early going, took the cue to take charge and banged in seven of his 15 points in the quarter to tow Meralco to safety.

 “With Tim, I can play a little off the ball so it helps me tremendously,” said Mercado. “It was hard for me having to bring the ball up every possession. You can’t really compare Tim and Champ just because they’re two totally different players, each of them bringing different qualities to the team.”

Mercado said Cardona’s arrival will boost Meralco’s hopes to contend for the championship. Cardona hasn’t played since the start of the conference due to a calf strain and is expected to be reactivated in two weeks.

 “With Mac-Mac, I think they’re taking his return slow so he doesn’t risk any further injury,” added Mercado. “But when he comes back, he will definitely make our team stronger – hopefully, by playoff time.”

Gregorio said Mercado’s read of the situation reflects his high basketball IQ. “I really appreciate all of Sol’s contributions to make us competitive despite our lack of roster depth,” Gregorio went on. “”He’s truly a warrior inside the court. He understands why we do things the way we do, purely to increase our chances of winning.”

Gregorio mentioned that Pickett didn’t only do a good job offensively but also defensively. “Tim isn’t just a so-so defender,” he said. “In fact, his hustle and one-on-one defensive exploits are highly commendable that he made (Alpha) Bangura bleed for his points. It was a high percentage gamble that we took and we won. The challenge is to win consistently. Our next target is Rain Or Shine.”

Gregorio explained that choosing Pickett was not an indictment on Oguchi. “There’s no problem with Champ,” he said. “He’s not a bad import at all. We just felt that with our present roster situation, we need someone who can play point guard for us. Tim is a known scorer so he’s expected to score for us. His defense is also a strong suit. So hopefully, he can increase our defensive intensity.”

Gregorio said the back-to-back losses to Barangay Ginebra and B-Meg exposed the Bolts’ weakness in defending an import who plays the one and two spot. Both the Kings and Llamados play with an undersized import – 6-2 or less – under the league’s handicapping rules. 

“Unfortunately, Mac-Mac and Chris are still not ready to play,” said Gregorio. “Sol is playing great basketball but needs help. We acquired Ogie Menor from NLex in the D-League to give us a live body for defensive purposes. For us, the playoffs started with our game against Air21. We must compete non-stop.”

Meralco team manager Virgil Villavicencio said Pickett was so excited to fly to Manila when he got the call-up that on the day he was scheduled to take the flight from Dallas, he couldn’t board because he brought the wrong passport – it had expired – and even forgot his cellphone and laptop.

“Tim had been trying to land a contract in the PBA for a long time,” said Villavicencio. “He’s heard a lot of good things about the PBA.  So when we finally made him an offer, he couldn’t wait to fly over. His home in Dallas is over an hour’s drive away from the airport so when he found out he brought the wrong passport as he checked in, it was too late for his wife to bring the right passport over. Since he also forgot his cellphone, he used a landline to ask his wife to be picked up from the airport.”

 Pickett was the New Orleans Hornets second round pick in the 2004 NBA draft. Before playing in the PBA, he suited up in leagues in France, Italy, Bulgaria, China, Jordan, Puerto Rico and Israel. Early this year, Pickett played for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in the Chinese league, averaging 27.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.