Arnaiz upbeat on hoops future

MANILA, Philippines - PBA legend Francis Arnaiz said the other day the Philippines is in the cusp of regaining supremacy in Asian basketball with the development of highly skilled junior players and the physical growth of the new generation, adding that it would be more interesting to get involved in the high school rather than the pro game as a mentor.

Arnaiz, 65, is in town with his wife Bebe from Sacramento, where they’ve lived the last 30 years, to visit family and friends for a month. They return to the US tonight but plan to come back to Manila in September and stay until the Christmas holidays. Arnaiz and his wife are now retired.

“I play golf six days a week and if the club wasn’t closed one day in the week, it would be seven days,” chuckled Arnaiz who played in 12 PBA seasons with Toyota and Barangay Ginebra until 1986. “Every time I visit, I always get together with Sonny (Jaworski) at least once. I wasn’t able to watch any PBA games live on this trip but I follow the PBA on TV. I didn’t want to risk going to a Ginebra game on this visit because if I showed up and Ginebra lost, I might be the bad luck.”

Arnaiz said coaching at the pro level isn’t something he’d try. “The pro game is very different from when I played,” said the man known as Mr. Clutch. “Now, the game is about strength. The players are bigger and stronger. I’m amazed at how they’re so grounded on the fundamentals. I think nearly everyone is able to dribble with both hands, between the legs, around the back. I could hardly dribble with my left when I played. But what I notice is there aren’t too many pure shooters. During my time, we had deadshots like Bogs Adornado and Allan Caidic. Once they released, the chances are that ball would go in.” A current PBA player whom Arnaiz singled out as outstanding is San Miguel Beer’s JuneMar Fajardo.

Arnaiz said if ever he becomes involved in basketball again, it would be at the high school level. “It would be wonderful to influence junior players, get into their minds, build their confidence and hone their skills,” said Arnaiz who has four children and a granddaughter. “At the pro level, I wouldn’t be able to teach the skills they already know anyway. But at the high school level, maybe I could be a positive influence. The kids of today are so much bigger than before. I foresee a bright future for Philippine basketball. Kids are learning the game early and the foundations are solid. It won’t be long before we’re No. 1 in Asia again. We’re getting there.”

Arnaiz was on the Philippine team that won the Asian title in 1973 and qualified to play at the FIBA World Cup in Puerto Rico in 1974. The Bacolod native said he was impressed by the Philippines’ competitive showing at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. On recruiting a naturalized player to beef up the national team, Arnaiz said it’s a stop-gap measure. “Countries all over the world do it,” he said. “I remember in the 1960s and 1970s, Spain had two naturalized players, (Cliff) Luyk and (Wayne) Brabender.” 

 Last Thursday, Arnaiz got together with his former teammates on the 1969 NCAA senior men’s basketball Ateneo squad in Makati. Tito Panlilio organized the reunion which brought in another visitor from the US, Bobby Rius.  Other Ateneo teammates Marte Samson, Ricky Palou, Baby Boy Morales and MaiMai Fernandez also attended.

Samson, 67, played in five PBA seasons with Tanduay and San Miguel Beer until 1979. He was on the last Philippine team that saw action in the Olympics in 1972 under coach Ning Ramos. Samson now lives in Baguio where he operates a trucking business. He has four children and six grandchildren. 

Samson, who is from Caloocan, said his favorite PBA team is San Miguel Beer. “When (Manny) Paner left San Miguel to join Great Taste, I was brought in from Tanduay,” he said. “I played on the Royal Tru-Orange team that won the 1979 open championship with Larry Pounds and Otto Moore.”