2026 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP | IMPORT WATCH | DANIEL OCHEFU

BLACKWATER | DANIEL OCHEFU

LISTED | 6’11 – 244LBS  

YEAR OF BIRTH | 1993

COLLEGE | VILLANOVA WILDCATS – NCAA CHAMPION 2016   

NBA DRAFT | 2016 | UNDRAFTED

NBA | WASHINGTON WIZARDS

NBA G-LEAGUE | MAINE, WINDY CITY, RENO, STOCKTON   

PH EXPERIENCE | TNT TROPANG GIGA

ASIA EXPERIENCE | IBARAKI ROBOTS (JAPAN), SEOUL SAMSUNG THUNDERS (KOREA), AL RIYADI (LEBANON), HSINCHU LIONEERS (TAIWAN), BISHRELT METAL (MONGOLIA), AL-JAISH (SYRIA)  

Being an NCAA champion has its perks, and this feat might have helped Daniel Ochefu play in the NBA alongside the Nova championship squad that also included Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and that season’s Most Outstanding Player, Ryan Arcidiacono.

He has since become a globetrotter, playing in leagues in Europe, the Americas, and most frequently in Asia.

Also, this is not his first time in the country. I bet he heard a lot about the PBA when he played for the KBL’s Seoul Samsung Thunders during the 2021–22 season. In fact, one of his teammates, former Sacramento Kings lottery pick Thomas Robinson, once had a stint with the NLEX Road Warriors a couple of seasons later.

Christian David, who played for Seoul after his contract expired, is also one of the top locals on the squad.

He has played for TNT in the EASL, and he was a last-minute scratch as the import for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2022–23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. ROS struggled that conference, with Ochefu’s replacement, Steve Taylor, and then Taylor’s replacement, Ryan Pearson, unable to lead the team to even a modest finish.

Sure, fate gave him vindication when the Elasto Painters lost to the Bay Area Dragons in the quarterfinals, but he now wants to give ROS a monumental beatdown with him in the driver’s seat.

As for leading the Blackwater Bossing to victory, it will be easier said than done. Unlike him, the team has yet to establish a winning tradition despite its decade-long stint in the league.

I believe Ochefu will find it challenging to realize that he needs to double his effort to lead the team to a respectable finish, but then again, maybe his presence is the one thing Blackwater needs to get out of its title-less bind.