NATE Brumfield did not only power Ginebra to a rousing opening-day win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup; he also set a very high bar for other reinforcements seeing action in the conference. "Siya ang standard ng mga imports ngayon," PBA chairman Rene Pardo of B-Meg Derby Ace noted after watching Brumfield notch a near-triple double in leading the Kings to a 115-98 win over the Meralco Bolts last Friday at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena in Laoag City.
"Matalinong maglaro, mahusay pumasa," Pardo added.
The barrel-chested Brumfield validated that assessment with a game-high 32 points, anchored on 10-for-18 field shooting, and also had 11 rebounds and eight assists.
The former star for Oklahoma Baptist and Pioneros de Quintana in Mexico spiked his game with several strong drives to the hoops, highlighted by a two-handed dunk he double clutched to avoid Asi Taulava’s block attempt, and also went 12-for-13 from the stripe.
"Maybe hindi siya as explosive or as flashy as the other imports, but he makes the team better," Kings coach Jong Uichico said after his charges opened each quarter strong and led by as many as 24 points.
Meralco’s Tony Dandridge was no slouch with 30 points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block. But he failed to get enough support, most notably from Mark Cardona and new acquisition Sol Mercado.
Cardona was limited to just six points on 3-of-14 field shooting. He did not buy a basket until the last 57 seconds mark of the second period and went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Mercado had 19 points off the bench, but shot just 7-of-20 in his first game out of a Rain or Shine uniform.
Taulava was the second highest Bolts scorer with 23 points and laced with 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the conference.
In stark contrast, the rest of the Kings ably backstopped Brumfield with Mark Caguioa scattering 20 points, Willie Miller 16 and Ronald Tubid 15.
Rudy Hatfield added a game-high 16 rebounds while Rico Villanueva, Willie Wilson and Eric Menk also had significant contributions in the wire-to-wire win.
Tubid shone in the third quarter as the Kings raced to their biggest lead at 72-48 off an inbounds lob pass by Caguioa that Tubid translated into a scooped shot.
The Kings and Brumfield next take on Alaska and import LD Williams on Sunday. Understandably, Aces coach Tim Cone deferred comment on Brumfield’s initial showing until after that game.
Noli Cortez, Business Malaya
