Orlando cager idolizes Pacman

By Joaquin Henson
Philippine Star
Sunday, October 21, 2007

MACAU – Orlando Magic guard Keyon Dooling said yesterday he watches all of Manny Pacquiao’s bouts on pay-per-view TV because the Filipino boxing icon is the world’s most exciting fighter.

Dooling, 27, is in this former Portuguese colony on a preseason tour with the Magic. But he sat out Orlando’s three games, one of which was held in Shanghai last Wednesday, due to a sore pelvis.

Asked what he knew about the Philippines, Dooling called out Pacquiao’s name without hesitation.

“I always watch his fights on pay-per-view,” he said. “He’s a guy I’ll pay money for. I watched his last fight (against Marco Antonio Barrera) on TV. I like boxing. Manny’s the man.”

Dooling said a Filipino friend, Adrian Sosa from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is his only connection to the country.

“Adrian’s a 6-1 guard who played basketball for Kennesaw State in Georgia,” said Dooling. “I know he wanted to go to the Philippines and play but I haven’t heard from him lately.”

Dooling was Orlando’s first round pick in 2000 but was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers after the draft. The 6-3 guard played four years for the Clippers, moved to Miami and to Orlando in 2005. Last season, Dooling averaged 7.9 points in 66 games.

In his seven-year NBA odyssey, Dooling said he has finally found a home in Orlando. With the arrival of coach Stan Van Gundy and forward Rashard Lewis from Seattle, the former University of Missouri star said things are looking up for the Magic.

“Stan’s the man for the job,” he said. “And Lewis is an upgrade in our scoring. Grant (Hill) will be missed but Rashard will be appreciated. Then there’s Dwight (Howard) – he and Yao Ming are the two best centers in the league. I played with Shaq (O’Neal) at Miami and I think Dwight is a Shaq-type player. He runs like Karl Malone and jumps like Vince Carter.”

Dooling said he’s not worried about playing time with the Magic backcourt corps six-men deep.

“I’m more comfortable playing point guard and it’s a bonus that I can play the two spot,” said Dooling. “Coach Stan’s new system is all about playing up-tempo. We’ll run a lot more than last year. We’re also playing tougher defense. He wants guys fresh on the floor so it’s great that we’re deep. It’s a long season and if anyone of us goes down, we’ll still be okay. We’re a unique team because the players respect and like being around each other.”

Orlando’s guard lineup lists Dooling, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Bogans, Carlos Arroyo, Kevin Kruger and J. J. Redick.

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Magic forward Hidayat (Hedo) Turkoglu is looking forward to playing for the Turkish national team when Istanbul hosts the World Championships in 2010.

But Turkoglu said a lot of work has to be done in retooling the Turkish squad which finished in a tie for 11th place with Israel in the recent 16-nation FIBA-Europe Olympic qualifiers.

“It can’t be just one or two guys playing hard,” said Turkoglu, referring to himself and another NBA player Memo Okur who anchored the Turkish team in the Olympic qualifiers. “We’re a young team and the other guys need more experience playing together. Turkey was second in Europe in 2001 and sixth in the 2006 World Championships. But we failed to make it to the top eight in the recent qualifiers.”

Turkoglu said he was surprised Russia won the FIBA-Europe crown, beating world champion Spain in the finals by a point. “But I’m happy for Russia,” he added. “They deserved it.”

Turkoglu, 28, said he has no difficulty adjusting from NBA rules to FIBA rules and back. “The rules are different but I played in Europe before going to the NBA so adjusting is not a problem for me,” he told The STAR. “In FIBA where the game is more physical, I get bumped and I wait for the call but it doesn’t come.”

Turkoglu said it’s Van Gundy’s decision how to play him alongside Lewis. Both Turkoglu and Lewis are 6-10 forwards who play four or three.

“It depends on how we read the defense,” he said. “If I play four, it might be hard for me to defend against bigger guys but I have my own advantage. I’m excited to play with Rashard. I just hope he plays for us like he played for Seattle.”

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Chinese national coach Jonas Kazlauskas of Lithuania told The STAR only five of the players who saw action in an exhibition game against Orlando at the Venetian Arena here last Thursday will suit up in the Beijing Olympics.

Lazlauskas didn’t identify the players but the consensus is NBA veteran Wang Zhizhi, point guard Liu Wei, forward Zhu Fangyu, forward Wang Shipeng and 6-9 southpaw guard Sun Yue will be enlisted to join Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.

Sun, 22, was the Los Angeles Lakers’ second round pick last June but showed up to play for China here.

“It’s every player’s dream to play in the best league which is the NBA,” said Kazlauskas. “Sun’s a very talented player. I think he should stay with the national team and get better before trying to play in the NBA. But that’s not my decision to make.”

Against Orlando, China jumped to a 12-3 lead before the Magic took the lead, 17-15, for good. Orlando’s biggest margin was 29 in the 116-92 win. Arroyo led all scorers with 25 points, including two triples, in 35 minutes. The other double figure pointmakers were Turkoglu (17), second-year center James Augustine (14) and Howard (12) who played only 13 minutes. Sun compiled eight points and four assists in 24 minutes off the bench.