RoS import one up on Durant

MANILA, Philippines - Rain Or Shine import Rick Jackson will never forget the day he battled Kevin Durant and towed Neumann-Goretti High School to a 67-64 win over the future NBA star’s team Montrose Christian in the Basketball Hall of Fame Magic32 Hoophall Classic Invitational in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Jan. 15, 2006.

Jackson compiled 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots while Durant had 30 points and 14 boards. They went toe-to-toe in a down-to-the-wire finish. Montrose went ahead, 64-62, on guard Greivis Vasquez’s layup with 1:44 left. Then, Jackson hit a jumper off Durant and fished a foul to complete a three-point play as Neumann-Goretti surged on top, 65-64. Vasquez, a Venezuelan now with the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, missed a layup and Jackson’s teammate Derrick Rivera connected to make it 67-64.

Montrose had a chance to send it into overtime as Durant fired a triple with two ticks left but Jackson was all over him. Durant missed and Jackson took Best Player of the Game honors. “It just felt real good,” said Jackson quoted by Bill Gelman. “KD is one of the top-rated big men in the nation which motivated me to prove a point. I was kind of nervous about that shot (Durant’s last attempt). If he made it, I would’ve felt it was my fault because I was in his face.”

Durant wound up in the NBA where he’s now a star. Jackson had tryouts with Golden State, Milwaukee, Indiana and Utah but never made it to the NBA. Instead, he played basketball in France, Israel and Russia after completing his four-year varsity eligibility at Syracuse University.

Jackson, 25, made his way to the PBA after Rain Or Shine couldn’t bring back former import Wayne Chism and second choice Kenny Adeleke backed out at the last minute. But coach Yeng Guiao couldn’t be happier with Jackson.

“When he struggles on offense, he finds other ways to contribute and that’s what I like about him,” said Guiao. “He fits the team. He provides the inside presence we sorely need. He demands the double at the post which gives us better looks at our outside shots. We’ve also improved our rebounding stats with him around. He lacks a consistent outside shot which could be useful but nobody is perfect.”

In three games so far in the Commissioner’s Cup, Jackson is averaging 21 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and 36.7 minutes. He had 30 points and 10 boards in the Elasto Painters’ 89-86 loss to Talk ‘N’ Text to start the conference then was more efficient in the next two games with 17 points, 20 rebounds and five assists in a 96-91 win over NLEX and 16 points, 18 rebounds and six assists in a 104-98 decision over Globalport.

Jackson will be tested by Joshua Davis and unbeaten Meralco at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.

Before the conference began, Jackson got a taste of the PBA’s physicality in a tune-up game against Purefoods. He was punched repeatedly in the back by Purefoods’ Yousef Taha who was fined P60,000 and suspended two games for the assault. “The PBA is by far the most physical league I’ve ever played in,” said the 6-8 1/16, 235-pound forward. “But it just takes getting used to. I’m adjusting to what the refs allow. I don’t mind the physicality if that’s what it is. I’m really more of a defensive player. If I don’t score a lot of points, I do other things to make my team win.”

Jackson said he likes Guiao’s system of getting everyone involved. “I trust my teammates and I know a lot of them are national players, like Paul (Lee),” he said. Lee scored back-to-back 25 points in leading Rain Or Shine to the wins over NLEX and Globalport.

At Syracuse, Jackson’s teammates included former Talk ‘N’ Text import Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku who was San Miguel Beer’s first import choice this conference. “I knew about the PBA from Paul,” he said. “It was Paul who told me to come over and play in the PBA, that I’ll enjoy myself because Filipinos love basketball.”

Jackson averaged 13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots as a Syracuse senior in 2010-11. Throughout his collegiate career, he had problems at the line, shooting 48.1 percent as a sophomore, 50 percent as a junior and 53.3 percent as a senior. But Jackson has worked on his free throws. With Rain Or Shine, he’s hitting 62.5 percent on 15-of-24 from the stripe.