Washington's heroics net week top honors

MANILA, Philippines - With Jay Washington’s dishing out a superb all-around game, San Miguel Beer came away with back-to-back victories in the week to zero in on the first twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.

Washington churned an impressive all-around averages of 15.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.5 steals and only 1.5 turnovers in 32 minutes in SMB’s wins over fellow favorites Talk n Text and Barangay Ginebra.

In the process, the 29-year-old forward earned for himself the Accel-PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week honors for the period Nov. 15-21, beating the likes of teammate Arwind Santos and B-MEG Derby Ace’s PJ Simon.

For Washington, the statistics were merely part of his desire to help SMB win the most coveted crown in the league.

“So whenever I’m not playing good offensively I try to concentrate on the other areas where I can help the team, especially on the defensive end,” he said.

In SMB’s 79-78 squeaker of a repeat win over Ginebra last Sunday, the Beermen rallied from an early 10-point deficit with Washington making up for a poor offensive outing fine defensive game.

The top pick overall in the 2005 Draft made only four of 11 shots but he more than made up with 12 rebounds, three assists and as many blocks. His tip-in of his own miss in the last 13.4 seconds also proved to be the final count.

The performance came on the heels of his 20-point, 11-rebound stint in a 93-88 victory over TNT last Wednesday, when he proved vital in a surge from a seven-point second quarter deficit.