West goes East, replaces Champ

Meralco import Champ Oguchi has been dethroned. The man called Chamberlain (Champ is his nickname) wore out his welcome in the PBA, unable to provide a consistent scoring sock for the Bolts in the ongoing Governors Cup. Oguchi played four games with his output dwindling from 29 to 24 to 16 to 12. Worse, Meralco lost its last three outings to drop to 1-3 in the standings.

It’s not like Oguchi is a stranger to the PBA style of play. Last season, he suited up in two conferences for Meralco. In the Commissiner’s Cup where the height limit for imports was 6-4, he checked in to depose Anthony Danridge after Meralco got off to a 0-3 start.

With Oguchi, the Bolts compiled a respectable 3-3 mark. The showing convinced Bolts coach Ryan Gregorio to bring back Oguchi for the Governors Cup. Meralco went 2-2 with Oguchi, took in Tim Pickett as an interim replacement then reactivated the Nigerian-American for the final game. The Bolts failed to make it to the playoffs in both conferences with Oguchi averaging 28.3 points in 11 total contests. What was remarkable in Oguchi’s performance was his three-point accuracy – a lofty 40.3 percent.

For this season’s Governors Cup, Meralco was burned twice for planing in two imports who were measured over the 6-5 limit – Devin Green and Juan Pattillo. Gregorio was lucky that Oguchi was available to play at a moment’s notice after finishing a stint in the Venezuelan league.  At first, Oguchi looked to be a perfect fit for the Bolts as he collected 29 points and 10 rebounds to lift Meralco to a 105-99 decision over Talk ‘N’ Text. But it was downhill from there.

Oguchi, 25, lost his touch and confidence in his shot. When Meralco was blown out by Barangay Ginebra by 27 points in Lapu-Lapu City last Saturday, Oguchi was 1-of-9 from three-point distance. And in the 88-83 defeat to B-Meg last Wednesday, Oguchi was even more atrocious as he missed all his 10 three-point attempts. Oguchi logged 41 minutes against the Llamados so he wasn’t deprived of playing time. In fact, the ball was in his hands with B-Meg up by three and only a few seconds were left. Oguchi went for the tie but the shot rimmed out.

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How Oguchi could’ve shot so poorly is beyond logical explanation. In his only season at Illinois State in 2008-09, he shot 39.5 percent from three-point range. In Lebanon this past campaign, Oguchi hit 43.4 percent from triple distance. It’s inconceivable that a 40 percent three-point shooter can knock down only 1-of-19 in his last two Meralco games. Oguchi couldn’t be unfamiliar with the international game. In 2006, he joined ex-PBA imports Julius Nwosu, Jeff Varem and Gabe Muoneke on the Nigerian team that saw action at the FIBA World Championships in Saitama, Japan. Besides, this was his third conference in the PBA.

Gregorio isn’t about to waste time wondering why Oguchi suddenly turned cold. He quickly pushed the eject button and jettisoned Oguchi out of the roster. In a blitz format where four teams are struck out after the single round eliminations, patience isn’t a luxury.  

Gregorio confirmed that a replacement for Oguchi was on the way to Manila even as the B-Meg game was in progress. Georgia Tech’s Mario West was scheduled to arrive yesterday.

“Mario should be the answer,” Gregorio told The STAR. “He is a known defender and bruiser and has a great motor on defense. He has a wide array of strong offensive moves going to the basket. We will be ready on Sunday for Alaska.”

Gregorio cited the efforts of Mac-Mac Cardona and Chris Ross in the loss to B-Meg. But with Oguchi on a slump, neither Cardona nor Ross could elevate Meralco’s voltage to the point of overcoming the Llamados. Cardona finished with 27 points while Ross compiled 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes.

West, 27, is listed at 6-5 in the NBA Register so he shouldn’t find it difficult to make the import limit since US measurements are usually bloated. Although West was never drafted in the NBA, he played for Atlanta and New Jersey in four seasons. Among his Georgia Tech teammates were NBA veterans Anthony Morrow, Jarrett Jack and Thaddeus Young. In his four varsity years, Georgia Tech posted an overall mark of 79-51. West played on three Yellow Jacket squads that went to the NCAA Tournament, including the 2003-04 runner-up.  

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At Douglas, Georgia, County High School, West averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds.  Despite his glowing prep stats, he wasn’t offered an outright scholarship by Georgia Tech. West was a walk-on and coach Paul Hewitt promised a scholarship if he stuck after his sophomore year.   Hewitt accelerated his offer after watching West impress at practice.

“Watching him dive on the floor and scramble and claw and fight for everything, I stopped practice one day and said, ‘OK, you got it,’” said Hewitt. “We put him on scholarship a year early. He earned it.” Writer Al Featherston described West as “a ferocious wing defender and a ball-handler capable of providing short-term relief at the point.”  

West’s drawback is lack of firepower.  He never averaged more than 5.2 points as a varsity player and in his first 71 games at Georgia Tech, scored in double figures in just five outings. In the NBA, he was contracted not for his offense but for his defense. Whether his style will make a contender out of Meralco remains to be seen.