Barako bullish on Mbenga

MANILA, Philippines - It took Barako Bull coach Rajko Toroman just two practices with seven-year NBA veteran D. J. Mbenga to convince himself that the 7-foot, 255-pound center from the Congo is the right import for the job as the Energy Cola battles to survive in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Toroman had the option of sticking with original import Evan Brock who led Barako to a 105-100 upset of San Mig Coffee last Sunday but Mbenga’s dominating inside presence was hard to ignore. Mbenga, 32, arrived here Tuesday night and showed up for practice the next day, unable to finish the workout because of exhaustion from jetlag and humidity. Toroman was worried that Mbenga wouldn’t be able to play extended minutes in Barako’s next game against Petron tomorrow and kept Brock on standby.

Mbenga, however, was well-rested for last Thursday’s practice and put on a scary display of power basketball that made up Toroman’s mind. “We had mixed feelings when Mbenga came because we just came from a big win over San Mig Coffee with Evan who’s a real good guy, very coachable and a team player,” said Toroman. “But the decision to bring Mbenga over was made after our loss to Ginebra when we gave up 26 offensive rebounds. We had lost six in a row and management decided we needed a change of momentum and a big guy to give us inside presence. We’d become too much of an outside shooting team and Evan is more a four than a five. With Mbenga, we’ve got a huge guy who can play defense, has a good mid-range shot and is difficult to stop at the low post.”

In Thursday’s workout, Mbenga batted away three shots in a row and went through Toroman’s entire routine unlike the day before when he gave up after 75 minutes of practice. “I told Mbenga the PBA is a serious league, it’s no joke,” he said. “I was worried that since he has played with Kobe (Bryant) and Dirk (Nowitzki), he might think the PBA is an easy league and he’ll kill everybody here. Mbenga watched San Mig Coffee’s win over Talk ‘N’ Text the other night and saw how intense and physical the game is here. I reminded him that Donnell Harvey was the leading rebounder in China but couldn’t lead his team to beat San Mig Coffee even if James (Yap) scored only three points.”

Toroman said the local players’ trust level for Mbenga has soared since his first practice. Mbenga looked ferocious in his third workout yesterday. “We used to depend on the three-point shot a lot, now we’ll run plays inside for Mbenga,” he added. “Mbenga could use another week of practice but we’ve got a game tomorrow. He’s been an animal in the gym, blocking shots, dunking, scoring from medium-range and his free throws are okay. I’ve explained to him that Asia is the place to be right now with Europe experiencing a financial crisis. He played seven years in the NBA so now, it’s time for him to dominate in Asia. He didn’t have a good experience in China and wants to make up for it in the PBA.”

Toroman said if Mbenga had flown in earlier, Barako’s situation would’ve been different. “Mbenga needs more practice time so he can be ready to play at least 35 minutes, not 25,” he said. “If he had 20 days of practice with us, our record would be much better for sure. There were at least two games which we could’ve won if Evan made free throws in the last few minutes. In China, an import has to score 30 points and grab 20 rebounds to keep his job. Mbenga and Tracy McGrady played together in China but Mbenga was replaced by Chris Daniels after their team lost eight in a row. I think the PBA has more skilled players than China although our players are shorter. Mbenga must be prepared for some tough competition.”

Toroman said he remembered Mbenga from his Belgian coaching years. “I saw him in Belgium when he came in from the Congo in 2001,” the Serbian mentor said. “He’s a huge, strong guy. I think he can help us particularly since we’re last in rebounding in the league. It’s a risk because he hasn’t played for three months and we need him to be in game-shape. But from the first practice to the second to the third, he has improved tremendously. You know he wants to win.”

Letting go of Brock was a painful decision. “You can’t say enough about Evan, everybody liked him, he worked hard, had a very good attitude and brought a lot of energy to our game,” said Toroman. “I’m sure he’ll find a job in the ABL. But Mbenga will make us stronger inside and we need his presence.”

After playing Petron, Barako battles Rain Or Shine on Friday and Globalport on April 14 to end its elimination schedule. If the Energy Cola sweeps its last three assignments, Barako’s record moves up to 7-7. “My goal is to make the playoffs,” said Toroman. “I’m not thinking of going up to sixth. If we finish seventh or eighth, I think we can beat either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed twice as Mbenga will be more familiar with our system and the way we play.”

Mbenga played on the Los Angeles Lakers championship teams in 2009 and 2010. He earned over $10.7 Million in the NBA, bankrolling a high of $1.97 Million with Dallas in 2008-09. Mbenga suited up for the Mavericks, Golden State, the Lakers and New Orleans Hornets in the majors before trying his luck in China. In March 2006, he was suspended a game by the NBA for striking LeBron James in the head, knocking him down and taking off his headband. The call was initially a flagrant-1 but the league later upgraded it to flagrant-2. During Game 4 of the Western Conference finals that same season, Mbenga was suspended six games for entering the stands although he was in civilian clothes and only meant to protect coach Avery Johnson’s wife Cassandra from hecklers.

Mbenga speaks five languages – French, Portuguese, English and two Congolese dialects. A judo black belter, he is known as D. J. because his first name Didier is pronounced like those initials.