Flying A at the crossroads

Coca-Cola guard Johnny Abarrientos has something to prove in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino Cup Finals.

Even since he was traded by Alaska to Pop Cola at the end of the 2000 season, the Flying A has been the subject of speculation that he’s a drug user or an inveterate gambler. As his weight dropped considerably because doctors ordered a strict diet to lessen the strain on his battered knees, the rumors got worse.

It didn’t help that Abarrientos’ statistics began to decline. He consistently scored in double figures in his first seven seasons but in his final year at Alaska, he averaged 7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 35 minutes in 43 games. In 2001, the Flying A hit at a 9.6 clipfor Pop Cola in 44 outings. Then, Abarrientos moved to his third team in three years as Coca-Cola took over Pop Cola’s franchise last campaign. The shift didn’t seem to suit Abarrientos whose norm fell to a career-low 7.3 points in 40 games. Within three years, his average playing time fell from 35 to 24 minutes.

What left a big question mark in Abarrientos’ future was his expendability in the All-Filipino Cup Finals last year. He netted 20 points in Game 1 but Coca-Cola lost a 70-67 decision to Alaska. Abarrientos suffered a double facial fracture in the series opener and sat out the last three games which Coca-Cola won to clinch the crown. While the Tigers dedicated the title to a bed-ridden Abarrientos, surely he wondered if his spot on the team was secure. After all, Coca-Cola won in his absence.

In the All-Filipino Cup this year, Abarrientos was used sparingly by coach Chot Reyes at the start. He sat out the Tigers’ first six games and later didn’t play in six more. There were nagging pains in his knees, ankles, and feet. The wear and tear of playing the last 10 years had begun to take a toll on the Flying A.

But Abarrientos was determined to show he’s far from finished. Before the Finals, he averaged 7.6 points. Now, with the series tied at two wins apiece, he’s scoring 11.3 a game and playing more like the MVP he was in 1996.

To his adoring fans, Abarrientos has nothing left to prove. He’s more than proved himself over and over again. At Alaska, the Flying A presided in bringing nine championships to the Uytengsu franchise. He’s one of only three PBA players ever to compile at least 1,000 steals — the others are Ramon Fernandez and Bernie Fabiosa. And he ranks No. 7 in the all-time assist ladder and should join six others in the elite cast of collecting at least 3,000 feeds before the season ends. Abarrientos has 2945 to his credit at the moment.

What’s significant is no player has scaled the heights of the steals and assist honor rolls faster than Abarrientos who’s only in his 11th season.

While he was part of the Coca-Cola squad that captured the All-Filipino title last year, Abarrientos confessed the feeling was empty. He wasn’t on the floor when the balloons and the confetti fell from the rafters. That’s why he’s itching to take the Tigers to the top in the All-Filipino Cup–if it happens, the title will be Abarrientos’ first since leaving Alaska and his 10th overall. The championship will also be his birthday gift to himself as Abarrientos turns 33 on July 17.

The seventh of nine children and one of five boys, Abarrientos said he is 100 percent behind PBA Commissioner Noli Eala’s drive to weed out drug users from the players’ ranks. He admitted being aware that some misguided fans unfairly suspected he was a drug user and it hurt him deeply. But with Eala’s anti-drug campaign, Abarrientos finally convinced doubters that he’s clean. Not a single Coca-Cola player tested positive in random and mandatory testing.

As regards rumors that he bets heavily on fighting cocks, Abarrientos said he’s a breeder, not a cocker. He denied staying up late at nights in cockpits. Abarrientos said he enjoys breeding fighting cocks and is engaged in a profitable business of selling his slashers to the highest bidders.

Abarrientos has about 100 cocks in his 2,000 square meter Novaliches property and plans to breed more in a 2 1 / 2 hectare farm lot he recently bought in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan where he nourishes 20 goats, four cows and some 150 chicks. He intends to start a piggery and poultry in the Bulacan farm.

From his PBA earnings, Abarrientos has made solid investments. His house in San Francisco del Monte and a townhouse are being rented out. He bought and renovated a home in Fairview where he lives with wife Mary Ann and their three children Joann Clarisse or J, 8, John Angelo, 5, and Jon, 3.

Abarrientos’ wife keeps busy doing house chores, taking care of the kids, and managing a bakery near the Sta. Lucia mall.

Abarrientos is ready for life after basketball. He knows where he’s headed. But even as he’s prepared for it, retirement is still far from his mind. Basketball remains his priority and chief means of livelihood–everything else is a hobby.

In the crossroads of his pro career, a title for Coca-Cola would be a fitting accolade for the Flying A.