Barako girds for Governors Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Forced to an early vacation in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Barako Bull is looking forward to a strong comeback in the Governors Cup and coach Rajko Toroman confirmed yesterday the Energy Cola is competing in an eight-team tournament in Dubai on May 17-24 to prepare for the third conference.

Barako got off to a 3-1 start in the Commissioner’s Cup then sputtered in losing six in a row before finishing with a 5-9 record for ninth place. Toroman had no excuses for the slip but rued the close losses to Alaska by four and Talk ‘N’ Text by three. He said there are positives to build on for the future.

“We’ll resume practice May 2 to train for Dubai,” said Toroman. “We’ve signed up Othyus Jeffers as our import for the Governors Cup and we’ll bring him with us to Dubai. He’s arriving in Manila to join us for practice May 8. Our goal won’t be to win the tournament but to gain experience as a team and test guys like (Keith) Jensen, (Dave) Marcelo, Eman (Monfort), J. C. (Intal), Shawn (Weinstein), Sean (Anthony), Doug (Kramer) and Allein (Maliksi). We’re excited about Jensen whom we’ll try at the four position. Enrico (Villanueva) won’t be able to play in Dubai but may be ready for the Governors Cup in August.”

Toroman said trading Josh Urbiztondo to Ginebra San Miguel for Jensen and a draft pick was a calculated gamble. “We’ll miss Josh’s killer instinct and energy but there were games where he seemed to lack focus, where he looked more to score from the three-point area than to make plays for others,” he said. “I think it was a good career move for Josh and I wish him the best. Besides, we needed to upgrade our four spot and we know Jensen was a big rebounder in the D-League so we went with the trade.”

Since trading for Jensen, Toroman said he has received an offer to swap him but declined it. There was also an offer for a trade involving a point guard from another team. Toroman said he’s staying put at the moment. “We’re happy with Allein’s development,” said the Serbian coach referring to Maliksi who averaged 16.8 points in his last six games. “Danny (Seigle) is still incredible on offense. Throughout the conference, he practiced hard and that’s why he played well. He will spend some time with family in Hawaii and catch up with us in Dubai. Jonas (Villanueva) was injured and didn’t play the last three games but he’s one of the most skilled point guards in the league. We’re hoping he’ll be healthy the rest of the season. Eman plays with a lot of heart and is very unselfish. We like his attitude. We’ll continue to play Sean at four even if he’s an undersized power forward. He hustles and works hard. We’ll test Shawn who’s a tough defender with experience in the Israeli league. Mick (Pennisi) remains deadly with his three-point shot and works well in our system.”

Toroman said the Dubai tournament will be a testing ground for Jeffers. Teams from Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Libya and the United Arab Emirates were invited to participate. The 6-5, 210-pound Jeffers, 27, has played for Utah, San Antonio and Washington in the NBA and is coming off a stint with the Iowa Energy in the NBA D-League where he averaged 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting .728 from the line.

Toroman said Barako’s six-game losing streak led to original import Evan Brock’s dismissal. “Brock was collateral damage,” he said. “It was decided to replace him before we beat San Mig Coffee. Too bad D. J. (Mbenga) arrived with an injury. Doctors had to drain fluid from the back of his knee. He could hardly practice with us. I benched him in the fourth quarter of our game against Rain Or Shine because he wasn’t contributing. We were behind with D. J. playing but recovered to lead with him not playing. With the Los Angeles Lakers, they never ran plays for D. J. whose role was to set picks for Kobe (Bryant). He wasn’t in game shape. Instead of getting him to work within our system, we spent time trying to get him in shape. There were practices where we just stood around because D. J. couldn’t go up and down.”

Toroman said he couldn’t ask more from team owner George Chua and his son Michael and manager Raffy Casiao in terms of supporting the Energy Cola. “I’m committed to Barako and the PBA,” said Toroman who will go on home leave in Serbia in June and return to start Barako practice on July 1. “I recently got a call asking if I was interested to coach Jordan but I told them I’m staying in the Philippines. I love the Philippines and how Filipinos love basketball. The game is played at a high level in the PBA and I’m honored to be given the opportunity to coach in the league.”