IT pays to hire an old hand. That’s San Miguel Beer’s biggest lesson learned in the case of Arizona “AZ” Reid III.
Reid was a four-time import of Rain or Shine before Ramon S. Ang (RSA), the president/CEO of San Miguel Corp., took him in as SMB import in the just-ended PBA Governors’ Cup.
But the move almost backfired as AZ started with the PBA’s oldest franchise on the wrong foot: He overate and got hospitalized for food poisoning. Kare-kare was the culprit that put him on dextrose in a three-day hospital misadventure.
In SMB’s first two games, AZ was a literal limp noodle as the Beermen suffered humiliating back-to-back setbacks.
Humbled, Reid was set to lose his job, only to be saved by RSA, whose patience and foresight saved the homeward-bound 6-foot-5 scoring machine.
Despite being only 70-percent healthy, Reid helped SMB snap its two-game losing slide with a game three win, putting the Beermen back in business.
Six more victories in dizzying succession would make SMB the 7-2 leader and would next secure a coveted twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
After a scary finish following a winner-take-all Game Two win against Meralco, the Beermen went on to demolish Rain or Shine behind a vengeance-filled performance by Reid.
As if to resent his getting booted out as Rain or Shine import, Reid defied every former teammate assigned to guard him, powering SMB to a resounding 3-1 triumph to enter the Finals.
With a first PBA crown within reach once more—Reid had twice brought Rain or Shine to the Finals but failed to close it out each time—the double-degree holder wouldn’t be denied this time.
He played packing his knees with steely power and keeping his hot hands on fire virtually every single game to finally nail a maiden crown in his fifth season.
Never mind that he did it without a best import plum tucked under his belt.
Romeo Travis was the best import winner this season but, appallingly, if not embarrassingly, Reid repeatedly routed him in SMB’s 4-0 massacre of Alaska.
Travis may be the best in both stats and in the eyes of pseudo-choosers going to the Finals but, alas, in the best-of-seven, not once in four games did he prove he was deserving of the accolade.
Reid was.
The Finals figures fractured the Travis myth of invincibility so grotesquely that in four fruitless games for Alaska, Travis merely milked 69 points from silly scores of 14-23-17-15. That was an awful 17.25 points a game power failure.
In contrast, Reid romped away with 143 points from sizzling scores of 32-37-41-33. That was an awesome 35.75 points a game smash hit.
Nobody knew what got Reid on fire all series long. But in his victory speech, Robert Non, SMB’s governor to the PBA board, said: “Mr. Reid is, indeed, a man of his words. He promised to win a crown for SMB. He just did that!”
Before the Finals, Reid had hinted of retiring after the championship.
But SMB Coach Leo Austria said Reid is “too young” to retire and “he is welcome to return to us anytime.”
How true. Reid, a father of one (AZ IV) from South Carolina who had previously won a title playing in Germany, is only 29 years old.
If he decides to make another crack at a PBA crown, who is he going to call?
THAT’S IT. Happy birthday to Malaya Sol M. Sadiwa, who turned 10 on July 21. Greetings coming from her brother Ikap and her parents Aya and Ricky, her cousins Kuya Mumu, Ate Dada and Kuya Biley, Ninong Dayong, Nanay Soh and Tatay Ah. Here’s wishing Mayasoh many more birthdays to come…. And didn’t Danny “Sir John” Isla, the Lexus Manila president, also turn a new leaf that day? Cheers for beers!