Abarrientos still in limbo as PBA's 32nd season draws near

Johnny Abarrientos, the toast of local basketball after winning the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Most Valuable Player Award when he led the Alaska Aces to a grand slam in 1996, is currently in limbo, because the Coca-Cola Tigers released the 5’7’’ pesky point guard with about two weeks to go before the opening of the PBA’s 32nd season. Sources said top management of the team reportedly released the 36-year-old player, just 17 days before his contract expires on September 30, in order for the veteran player to shop around for a team of his choice. Newly-installed Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico has expressed interest in Abarrientos but under league rules, teams under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella — Ginebra, Coca-Cola, Purefoods and San Miguel — cannot work on a direct trade unless a third team is involved. Releasing Abarrientos allows the other teams to deal with the aging star guard, but the privilege is good for only five working days. If Abbarientos remains unsigned in that span, he can negotiate freely with Ginebra without violating any rule. The pre-season games starts next week, but the PBA has yet to receive his release papers. Abarrientos, who played college ball for the Far Eastern University (FEU) in the UAAP, became dispensable after Coca-Cola revamped its team, hiring young and hard working players. In an interviews, Abarrientos said that if given a chance he was willing to kiss and make up with Alaska coach Tim Cone, who replied that he was willing to have Johnny back, although no formal talks have begun. Cone added that the team is currently loaded with guards. Abarrientos helped Alaska win 10 championships, including a rare grand slam in 1996. But his relationship with Cone got strained when the Aces traded him with the Coca-Cola Tigers (then known as Pop Cola Panthers) in 2001. Abarrientos began his basketball career in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws alongside future pro Victor Pablo and led the Tamaraws to the UAAP crown in 1991 and 1992. He also played in the Philippine Basketball League for the Crispa Redmanizers and Triple-V before jumping ship to the PBA. In 1993, Alaska selected Abarrientos in the 1993 PBA draft and showed an impressive performance in his rookie season. In his second season, he was included in the RP national team bound for the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, Japan. From 1994-1998, Abarrientos led Alaska to eight PBA titles, including the grand slam winning 1996 season. He was named as the Most Valuable Player Award during the same season. In 1997, talks of Abarrientos' potential participation in the National Basketball Association in the US came, when Charlotte Hornets scout Joe Bettancourt offered him a contract to participate in the Hornets' pre-season camp. Abarrientos, though, declined the offer. In 1998, Abarrientos was included in the Philippine Centennial Team, coached by his Alaska mentor Tim Cone. With him, Alvin Patrimonio, and fellow Alaska teammates Kenneth Duremdes and Jojo Lastimosa, the RP team took home the bronze medal in the Bangkok Asian Games. Two years later, Abarrientos was named in the PBA's 25 Greatest Players of All-Time as part of the league's anniversary on April 9, 2000. During the same year, Abarrientos' career started to diminished despite the Aces winning the All-Filipino crown. After the season, Abarrientos and Poch Juinio was swapped to the Pop Cola Panthers for Ali Peek and Jon Ordonio. Abarrientos put on a decent performance in his only season with the Panthers in 2001. With Rudy Hatfield and former Alaska teammates Lastimosa and Juinio around, they led Pop Cola to a third-place finish in the All-Filipino Cup. After the year, Pop Cola was bought by San Miguel Corporation and was renamed as the Coca-Cola Tigers. Prior to joining the Tigers in 2002, Abarrientos was part of the RP Training Pool for the Busan Asian Games but was later cut. He returned later to lead Coca Cola to a third-place finish in the Governors Cup. In the All-Filipino league, Abarrientos led his team to the finals against Alaska. After he scored 20 points in the first half of Game 1, Abarrientos left the game with an injury and was sidelined for the rest of the series. The Tigers went on the win the crown 3-1 over his former team. In 2003, Abarrientos and his team led the Tigers to the Reinforced Conference title. By the 2004-2005 season, injuries have begun to hamper Abarrientos and saw his playing minutes diminished. In the 2005-2006 season, Abarrientos was seen sharing his point guard duties with rookie Denok Miranda and Dale Singson. GMANews.TV