'Spiderman' awaits Lutz arrival

If there was a team that pulled a surprise in the recent PBA draft, it had to be Petron for negotiating a last-minute trade to grab highly-touted Chris Lutz of Marshall University with the third overall pick and no less than Governors Cup finals MVP Arwind (The Spiderman) Santos said yesterday the rookie’s arrival will make the Blaze even tougher on both ends in the coming season.

Petron isn’t due to start practice until Wednesday. Santos said he can’t wait. But Lutz will report only after coming back from the FIBA-Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, late this month.

“I think Chris will be a big help to us not only in offense but especially in defense,” said Santos. “Another big help is the return of Dondon (Hontiveros) because he knows the way the team plays and is familiar with most of us. It’s like he took a vacation for two conferences and now he’s back. If our lineup was balanced last season, we’ve become even more balanced now.”

Petron dealt Sunday Salvacion and Mick Pennisi to Barako Bull for Hontiveros and Carlo Sharma on the trading floor during the draft last Aug. 28. They also switched first round draft picks with Petron taking the third slot and Barako the eighth. Sharma is reunited with brother Rabeh Al Hussaini – they were formerly Air 21 teammates.

What puts Petron in a bind is the absence of injured starters Jay Washington and Al Hussaini. Both will miss the first conference. According to orthopaedic surgeon Dr. George Canlas, Washington won’t be ready to play until December or January while Al Hussaini until February. Washington underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his foot. Al Hussaini, recently named Rookie of the Year, had an ACL operation in the knee. In a display of resiliency, the Blaze managed to beat Talk ‘N’ Text in the Governors Cup finals despite missing Washington and Al Hussaini.

Aside from Salvacion and Pennisi, Petron has also lost Paolo Hubalde and Jojo Duncil who were returned to their mother club Barako Bull, now Shopinas. Hubalde and Duncil combined to average five points in the recent finals.

In the draft, Petron also selected guard Felimon Fernandez of Orange Coast College at Fullerton in the third round and forward Gerald Lapus of Arellano University in the fourth. Team manager Hector Calma, however, said Fernandez and Lapus won’t be signed up. He added that a contract with Lutz is being negotiated.

“I’m excited and happy to report for practice and for sure, I’ll be smiling when I go to our first practice,” said Santos. “As for those whom we lost, it’s really sad but as players, we know our careers are like the weather. As they say, weather weather lang ‘yan. So no matter if the weather is good or bad, we players must be strong and focused if we want our careers to last long because we don’t control the weather. It’s management’s call and we just have to play to the best of our ability.”

Santos said during the offseason, he took his wife to Boracay for a short vacation. But now, he’s back in town to get ready for Petron’s opening practice.

Petron assistant coach Gee Abanilla said alternating Lutz and Hontiveros at the two-guard spot is a possibility but they could also play together. “We have to raise the bar higher this conference because there is no room for complacency especially now that other teams are getting stronger,” he said. “Although Mick, Sunday, Paolo and Jojo are no longer with us, I feel that we’re still going to be competitive but we will need good contributions from last year’s rookies Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra while waiting for Jay and Rabeh to heal. We’re not sure yet when they’ll be back but we’re hoping it’s sooner than later.”

Abanilla said to complete the Petron cast, the team could use one or two more recruits, preferably a big who can play four or five and a versatile forward who can play three or four.

Petron opened last season as San Miguel Beer which went to the Philippine Cup finals and lost to Talk ‘N’ Text in six games under coach Ato Agustin. San Miguel posted an 18-9 record in the conference. In the Fiesta Conference, San Miguel failed to make it to the playoffs, registering a 2-6 mark as the team brought in Al Hussaini, Baclao and Guevarra in a trade with Air 21 for Dorian Pena, Hontiveros and Paul Artadi. Then, in the Governors Cup, Petron was unveiled and the Blaze parlayed a 12-8 slate into a championship finish. In all, the San Miguel/Petron franchise won 32 and lost 23 in claiming a title in two finals in Agustin’s impressive rookie showing.