Battle of the bulge

How credible or incredible are the official bio-sheets of Meralco’s Alex Stepheson and TNT’s Joshua Smith? Stepheson’s weight is listed at 249 pounds while Smith is at 304. It’s hard to believe they’re that light, relatively, of course, because both imports look a lot heavier. Stepheson has to be close to at least 280 pounds, maybe even up to 300 after a hearty meal. Smith is more like 350. Nobody dares to challenge either giant to step on the scales. It wouldn’t be healthy.

Smith once weighed as much as 383 pounds during his college career that featured stops at UCLA and Georgetown, two schools known for developing legendary centers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton were UCLA stars while Pat Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo played at Georgetown. Smith is nowhere near the caliber of Kareem or Walton or Ewing. But out of high school, he had the potential to become a dominant center. Otherwise, UCLA and later, Georgetown would’ve ignored him.

Smith, 25, was up to five feet when he was only five years old. Some full-grown men don’t even reach five feet. But Smith is phenomenal. I call him Jumbotron. As a high school freshman, Smith stood at 6-7 and by the end of his junior season, he shot up to 6-10. Smith’s official height is 6-9 1/2, confirmed by the PBA after applying strict measurement standards where he was made to lie flat on his back.

Smith never made it to the NBA after averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds as a Georgetown senior in 2014-15. The heaviest NBA players in history were Shaquille O’Neal who tipped the scales at 360 pounds and Oliver Miller who checked in at 375. Smith could’ve broken the record if he was signed. He came close to it and was the Houston Rockets’ last cut for the 2015-16 season.

* * *

Last year, Smith worked out with conditioning coach Casey Trujeque, one of whose clients is his high school teammate Allen Crabbe of the Portland Trail Blazers. A report said Smith displayed incredible work ethic to trim his weight by over 50 pounds. One source said he dropped down to 290 which may be an exaggeration. Another source said he cut down to 327. You’ll never know for sure how much Smith weighs now because it’s so tempting to eat the food that’s available everywhere in Manila malls. In fact, he was recently down with food poisoning.

As for Stepheson, he, too, comes from a rich collegiate basketball background. The big guy played at the University of North Carolina (which produced Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Vince Carter) and the University of Southern California (which produced DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Nick Young). Unlike Smith, Stepheson advanced to the NBA, playing with the Los Angeles Clippers on a pair of 10-day contracts and the Memphis Grizzlies on a 10-day contract in 2015-16.

Stepheson once collected seven blocked shots in a game with USC and had 32 rebounds in a high school contest. Known more for his defense and rebounding than scoring, Stepheson said one of his biggest achievements was not in basketball – he won a Spelling Bee contest as a sixth grader. Stepheson, 29, has a distinct experience advantage over Smith who’s in his first overseas stint. Stepheson played in Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia, Turkey and China before moving to Manila so he knows what it’s like battling on distant shores and adapting to unfamiliar playing conditions. Stepheson was measured 6-8 5/8 by the PBA.

* * *

Tonight, Smith and Stepheson will figure in a you-or-me, winner-take-all duel. It’s the Battle of the Bulge all over again. Meralco and TNT are tied at a win apiece in their best-of-three quarterfinal series with tonight’s winner moving on to face Barangay Ginebra in the best-of-five semifinals and the loser bowing out of contention.

Stepheson is due for a breakout as he scored only nine points in Meralco’s 102-84 loss to TNT in Game 1 last Monday and seven in the Bolts’ 103-100 overtime win in Game 2 last Wednesday. Smith could’ve sealed the deal in Game 2 but missed a free throw in the dying seconds of regulation, leaving the window open for Meralco to come back in overtime.

Meralco blew a 19-point lead in Game 2 and went blank in the last 5:46 of regulation in Game 2 as TNT detonated an 11-0 bomb. Stepheson fouled out with 1:54 left in the fourth period but the Bolts rode on Baser Amer’s career-high 32 points and Kelly Nabong’s seven points in overtime to eke out the victory. TNT was outshot from the field, 43 percent to 36 as Jayson Castro hit a lowly 2-of-13 from the floor to finish with 12 points, a far cry from his 25 in Game 1. Worse for the KaTropa, Castro’s counterpart Amer sizzled for 11-of-21 field goals, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. TNT also had five more turnovers which resulted in Meralco scoring 21 off the miscues.

The Bolts escaped with a win in Game 2 despite Stepheson’s virtual absence. In Game 3, coach Norman Black can’t afford another off-night by Stepheson. He’s got to show up and bring down Jumbotron with a thud. Otherwise, it’ll be TNT advancing to battle Ginebra.