ABARRIENTOS

Games on Wednesday (Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — Coca-Cola vs San Miguel
7:30 p.m. — Alaska vs Sta. Lucia

Veteran players Johnny Abarrientos, Olsen Racela, and Jeffrey Cariaso have won numerous championships in the PBA, 28 at last count.

But the next one could be the most important for them.

Now in the twilight of their careers, they hope to win once more before finally saying goodbye to the league that provided them enormous opportunities.

The KFC Philippine Cup – the opening tournament of the 35th season – presents another chance for them to embellish their status not only for their skills but also for their durability.

That’s because their respective teams have pretty good chances of nailing a finals berth. In fact, their teams occupy the top three places.

With a 13-3 record, Racela’s San Miguel Beer has already clinched the first outright slot in the Final Four. Cariaso and Alaska is in second place with an 11-3 card, just two games away from claiming the second outright slot in the Final Four.

As for Abarrientos and Ginebra, they are at No. 3 spot with an 11-6 slate, still in contention for either the last automatic seat in the semis or one of three outright berths in the quarterfinals.

Although their numbers – from playing minutes to points, rebounds and assists – went down this conference, they constantly play at a high level withstanding their age.

Racela and Abarrientos are the seniors in the league at 39 while Cariaso is 37.

With career average of 13.7 points, Cariaso’s has normed 2.7 points this Philippine Cup with 1.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists in 11.4 minutes, while Racela has 2.6 points, 1.5 assists in 12 minutes of action, far from his career numbers 8.2 points and 3.4 assists.

Abarrientos, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1996, the year his former team Alaska won its Grand Slam (three straight titles in a single season), has 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists, but these dropped to 4.9 points, 2.6 boards and 3.4 assists.

The 5-foot-8 Abarrientos actually decided to call it quits in the off-season after playing just one game in the previous season. But when reigning MVP Jayjay Helterbrand went down with a knee injury, Ginebra coach Jong Uichico had no other option but to ask the diminutive point guard to comeback.

“He’s a big boost for us,” Uichico said of Abarrientos.

“Imagine coming off a year layoff, but because of our injuries he returned, and is playing like he never left. He may have lost a step, but did not lose his court sense and leadership,” he added.

The vast improvement of playmaker Jonas Villanueva, the return of Mike Cortez, and the acquisition of Dennis Miranda have reduced the playing time of the 5-foot-10 Racela. Still, Racela is the team’s undisputed leader.

“He makes coaching a lot easier. He helps us introduce to the new players how we do things like our defensive concepts and offensive sets. We as coaches can teach them but it’s good to have veteran like Olsen to show them by example,” said SMB coach Siot Tanquincen.