Flying A chasing records

Coca-Cola point guard Johnny Abarrientos was in scintillating form as he powered the Tigers to a 92-84 win over Barangay Ginebra at the Big Dome last Sunday.

The quickness was back. The leadership was evident. And the intelligence took care of the rest.

Abarrientos, 33, sat out 14 games last season and doubters speculated he’d never regain the poise that characterized his MVP performance as Alaska’s quarterback in 1996 when the Uytengsu franchise captured a Grand Slam.

Coach Chot Reyes, however, kept the faith. He didn’t give up on Abarrientos. In fact, he reunited Jeffrey Cariaso, Bong Hawkins and Abarrientos from the Alaska ’96 nucleus to form the Tigers’ veteran core.

The Flying A owed Reyes a debt of gratitude for his faith and is paying him back with interest.

Sunday’s demolition job was a timely reminder that Abarrientos is far from finished. He compiled 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and eight steals in 32 minutes. More than Mark Sanford who erupted for 41 points, it was Abarrientos who keyed the big win. The former Far Eastern University star played nearly without relief in the third period when the Tigers turned the tables on the Kings and leaned on a searing fastbreak attack to silence the Barangay multitude.

Ginebra coach Allan Caidic rotated a slew of defenders to check Abarrientos but it was no use. Rodney Santos, Mark Caguioa, Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Bal David took turns trying to ground the Flying A. Nobody could clip his wings.

As it is, Abarrientos looks like he can go on and on until he surpasses Robert Jaworski’s all-time assist record. The question is—-can he keep healthy? Only injury will keep Abarrientos from zooming to the top of the assist ladder.

At the moment, the Flying A has compiled 3,079 assists and is in his 12th season. He’s averaging about 280 assists a year. Jaworski registered 5,825 assists in 23 years. The Big J was 52 when he played his final game in 1998. At the rate of 280 assists a year, it will take Abarrientos up to 2014 to break Jaworski’s mark. He will be 43 by then.

Only seven players are in the record books for amassing at least 3,000 assists—-Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Dindo Pumaren, Willy Generalao, Ronnie Magsanoc, Philip Cezar and Abarrientos.

The Flying A is only 51 short of duplicating Cezar’s total, 149 shy of matching Magsanoc’s and 177 behind Generalao’s. Abarrientos should be able to eclipse the three marks this year and vault to No. 4 in the all-time honor roll.

The next active player in the standings is Vergel Meneses at No. 19 with 2,017. Then comes Alvin Patrimonio at No. 20 with 2,001. Closing in on the 2,000-assist plateau is Olsen Racela with 1,911 in his 12th year. Racela, incidentally, is the only player so far this season to post double figures in assists—-he dished out 10 in San Miguel Beer’s 100-96 win over Talk ‘N’ Text last Wednesday.

While it will probably take 10 more years for Abarrientos to reach Jaworski’s total, he should be able to claim overall leadership in the steals category by the end of 2005 or early 2006.

Abarrientos has collected 1,100 steals since 1993—-No. 3 in the theft department after Fernandez (1,302) and Bernie Fabiosa (1,235). They’re the only players in history to pick up at least 1,000 thefts. The next active player in the ladder is Chris Jackson who has compiled 478. Racela comes next at 463.

Abarrientos averages about 100 steals a year so dislodging Fernandez from the top of the heap is a realistic goal within two seasons.

In the raging Fiesta Conference, only seven players have amassed at least 20 assists—-Racela 31, Kalani Ferreria 29, Mike Cortez 26, Paul Artadi 24, Jimmy Alapag 23, Tony de la Cruz 22 and Abarrientos 20. They’re easily the league’s passing fancy.

Postscript: Josephine Larong, Mitzi Encinares and Anna Canales are inviting sports fans to check out hundreds of magazine and book titles at the Binondo Media Publication store in the Alabang Town Center. The Encinares famly of Mother Earth Subdivision is solid for The Star’s sports section.