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Arwind Santos played like a man on a mission in his first game against his former team.

Santos erupted with a huge double-double game with 28 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, and San Miguel Beer notched its first win in the 35th PBA season with a 117-99 blasting of Burger King at the Cuneta Astrodome Wednesday.

The Beermen woke up from a stupor, breaking into the win-column in the KFC Philippine Cup following back-to-back losses to the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Alaska Milk Aces.

The Whoppers suffered a second defeat in three starts with team skipper Wynne Arboleda starting to serve his long suspension for mauling a fan in their last game against Smart Gilas Friday.

Santos had his breakout game as a Beerman, dealing his former team much beating.

The versatile forward was 4-of-9 from the three-point area and 8-of-14 from the two-point zone as he raised his game several rungs up following mediocre showings against the Kings and the Aces.

He was 0-of-10 from beyond the arc in those games.

“Gigil siguro doon sa first two games kaya ganon. Saka medyo nagse-settle down na rin siguro ako with my new team,” said Santos, who also highlighted his game with 18 caroms, improving his previous career best by one.

“No doubt, Arwind is a great talent. He can play big or small. But talent alone doesn’t win games. The jury is still out if he can pick things up with us,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

The whole San Miguel team made a big turnaround from so-so showings versus the Kings and the Aces.

The Beermen hit at a 42.9-percent three-point shooting — a big improvement from 3-of-32 clip in their first two games.

“Very obvious, nagkakapaan pa ang team. No excuses but we played like shit in our first two games. In short stretches lang kami nakapaglaro ng maayos,” said Tanquingcen.

“We won tonight but we’ve yet to get the chemistry that we want. We’re still a work in progress,” Tanquingcen added.

Finally hitting their strides, the Beermen drew double-digit outputs from six other players in Mike Cortez, Mick Pennisi, Dondon Hontiveros, Lordy Tugade, Jonas Villanueva and Dennis Miranda.

Richard Yee, a transferee from Purefoods, paced BK with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Beermen led by as many as 15 points before settling for a 60-49 margin at the half.

They took the opening quarter at 34-24 with Santos beating the buzzer with a long heave for his first three-point shot in the season. (SB)

The scores:

San Miguel 117 – Santos 28, Cortez 16, Pennisi 14, Hontiveros 13, Tugade 12, Villanueva 10, Miranda 10, Pena 6, Custodio 3, Racela 3, Eman 2, Calaguio 0.

Burger King 99 – Yee 17, Billones 16, Quinahan 14, Lanete 13, Matias 7, Buenafe 7, Aban 7, Sharma 7, Yee 5, David 4, Belga 2.

Quarterscores: 34-24, 60-49, 85-73, 117-99 – Pba.ph

The PBA’s 35th season is just a week old but Barangay Ginebra and Alaska Milk have already made an impact by posting two convincing wins in the KFC Philippine Cup.

The Aces and the Kings, both runners-up in the previous two conferences, roared past rivals on opening week, including a huge victory each over fancied San Miguel Beer, to stay on top of the standings.

Alaska opened its campaign with a resounding 99-83 win against the rebuilding Barako Bull last Wednesday where former two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Willie Miller collected his third career triple-double with 19 points 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

The Aces then stunned the Beermen, 85-74, with Miller delivering another solid game with 25 points in Panabo City.

Ginebra, on the other hand, welcomed the return of Mark Caguioa with a 98-86 triumph against San Miguel.

The 6-foot Caguioa, who was sidelined last season due to tendonitis, fired 15 of his 17 points in the third quarter in his first game back, while Eric Menk had 18 points and nine rebounds and reigning MVP Jayjay Helterbrand added 17, seven boards and nine assists.

With Menk out in their second game, the Kings turned to Helterbrand, who scored 19 points with five rebounds and nine assists in their 95-85 win versus the Purefoods Giants. Willy Wilson came off the bench to add 16 points.

“We just hope that we keep on improving,” said Ginebra mentor Jong Uichico following his team’s victory over Purefoods.

Alaska coach Tim Cone said it’s too early to tell or use their two wins as a gauge, saying: “Not much to crow about. Beat an undermanned Barako Bull team and ‘hangover’ SMB squad but certainly better than 0-2. Tough weekend coming up for us, it will be telling.”

While Alaska opted to keep its team intact – at least for this conference – Ginebra made some adjustment with its roster, especially on their frontcourt rotation.

The Kings got in a three-team trade Rico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, and Celino Cruz from Purefoods, while the Aces decided to stick with Miller, who admitted that he’s happy that he’s still with Alaska despite off-season rumors that he will be traded to another team.

Despite losing forward Rafi Reavis and guard Paul Artadi in the trade, the arrival of Villanueva and Alvarez has solidified the Kings’ frontline rotation,
while Cruz has been a steady playmaker so far as a back-up to Helterbrand.

But their mettle will put to test when they clash on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Also making their presence felt are defending champion Talk ’N Text, which downed Rain or Shine, 85-76, and 2008 Philippine Cup champion Sta. Lucia Realty, which won against Coca-Cola (95-76).

Burger King and Barako Bull have also shown their resolve by bouncing back after dropping their opening game assignments.

After losing to the Giants, 80-93, the Whopper turned back the Smart-Gilas RP Team, 115-105, while the Energy Boosters rebounded from their loss to the Aces with an 81-73 win over the Tigers last Sunday at the Big Dome.

The Manila Bulletin

The Philippine Basketball Association on Monday handed down its severest penalty to date, suspending veteran Burger King guard Wynne Arboleda without pay for the rest of the 2009-10 Season.

Arboleda Arboleda went after a heckler at courtside during the Whopper’s game against Smart-Gilas at the Araneta Coliseum last Friday, landing a kick and some punches before being restrained by cooler heads.

The suspension means P2.73 million in lost income for Arboleda, not counting won game, advancement and player award bonuses. For committing two flagrant fouls penalty 1 in the game, the nine-year PBA veteran also drew a P20,000 fine and a one-game suspension, which would be served on Wednesday in their game against the San Miguel Beermen.

In his decision letter sent to Arboleda, PBA commissioner Renauld “Sonny” Barrios said, “As we pointed out to you, even granting that said fan was foul-mouthed and verbally abusive as confirmed by reports to us, there is a ‘line’ that a PBA player cannot and should not cross: to physically harm a fan.”

Coming just a few months after two separate incidents involving players and fans, commissioner Barrios told Arboleda that “your serious breach of this ‘line’ at this time and in the manner described herein endangers the PBA as being perceived by the public as unwholesome and not deserving of fan support.”

Even granting that said fan was foul-mouthed and verbally abusive as confirmed by reports to us, there is a ‘line’ that a PBA player cannot and should not cross: to physically harm a fan. – Sonny Barrios, PBA commissionerThe PBA Commissioner ended his letter by saying a repeat of the same or similar act will result in a lifetime ban from the league.

Barrios, who met with Arboleda Monday morning at the PBA Commissioner’s Office in Libis, added that the PBA must send a strong signal that such an unwanted act has no place in the league and will never be taken lightly, stressing that the fans’ interest is always the league’s primordial concern as established by PBA forefathers over the years.

While serving his suspension, Arboleda cannot be present at the playing venues during Burger King’s games.

As a contracted PBA player even while suspended, Arboleda likewise may not play in any other league. - GMANews.TV

Ronald Tubid provided the spark coming off the bench in the last three minutes as Barangay Ginebra upended Purefoods, 95-87, to gain a share of early lead with Alaska Milk in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Tubid pumped in a trey then scored on a drive following his own steal, triggering a decisive 11-3 run that keyed the Kings’ second win following a triumphant debut against the San Miguel Beermen Wednesday.

Jayjay Helterbrand put in team highs of 19 points and nine assists while Willy Wilson came through with a career-best of 16 points as the Kings pulled abreast with the Aces who earlier won their first two matches in the all-Filipino tourney against the Barako Bull Energy Boosters and the Beermen.

Mark Caguioa was limited to eight points after scattering 17 points Wednesday — his return from a one-year layoff.

“Both team struggled tonight. It’s good we ran a streak at the right time,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“It’s a big back-to-back wins for us. To be honest, medyo takot ako in our first two games. We’ve got new players at dalawang malakas agad ang kalaban namin. We wanted sana na maka-adjust muna sa system namin ang mga new players namin,” Uichico also said.

“The veterans did a good job, nakalusot kami against San Miguel and Purefoods.”

The Kings take a four-day rest before facing another tough back-to-back games against Smart Gilas Friday and Alaska Sunday.

“Hopefully, we can pick up from tonight’s game, we continue to improve and get past Smart Gilas and Alaska. Pero siguradong mahirap na laban yon,” said Uichico.

The Giants, winners over the Burger King Whoppers in the season opener, provided a tough battle, fighting the Kings through 10 deadlocks and 13 lead changes.

James Yap fired 21 points, including a fastbreak layup giving Purefoods its last taste of the lead at 76-74.

The count was tied at 78-all before Billy Mamaril canned in a charity then Tubid struck with his five-point binge pushing the Kings ahead at 84-78 with 2:16 left to play.

Biboy Simon and Helterbrand traded a triple each in the ensuing plays as the Kings eventually settled the outcome of the game, getting the two-game roll after a runner-up finish in the most recent Fiesta Conference.

Enrico Villanueva started at power forward spot against his former team, coming through with 10 points, three rebounds and one assists in 25 minutes of play.

Rich Alvarez, another Purefoods player, was 0-of-2 from the field.

Eric Menk sat out the game due to a fractured small toe on left foot. (SB)

The scores:

Ginebra 95 – Helterbrand 19, Wilson 16, Tubid 14, Villanueva 10, Mamaril 9, Salvacion 9, Caguioa 8, Intal 5, Baguio 4, Cruz 1, Alvarez 0.

Purefoods 87 – Yap J. 21, Simon 16, Yap R. 13, Maierhofer 9, Artadi 8, Pingris 8, Raymundo 6, Timberlake 3, Allado 2, Reavis 1, Canaleta 0.

Quarterscores: 23-22, 38-39, 66-61, 95-87

THE CONCERN OF THE KFC-PBA PHILIPPINE CUP field is not the chemistry and consistency problems San Miguel Beer experienced in its season-opening 98-86 loss to Barangay Ginebra last Wednesday.

What is outright scary is when the Beermen iron out the rough edges of their game and unleash the true power of their talented roster.

Despite posting an early 11-point lead, San Miguel was thrown off by a second-quarter blitz engineered by the returning Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid.

* * *

When Ginebra plays small and hits emotional shots, it stirs its faithful fans and unfurls a volatile concoction that opponents find difficult to deal with.

Ginebra outscored San Miguel, 18-9, on the break and was sharper, 47 to 38 percent, from the field. It didn’t help at all that the Beermen couldn’t nail a trey all night, missing all 15 three-point attempts.

It was clear that there was some getting used to that the Beermen had to address.

New recruits Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda were feeling their way around. Their teammates were still getting accustomed to when they would take their shots and how they would move alongside them.

Anybody who has played hoops knows that the equation changes when somebody you’ve played against suddenly becomes your teammate.

It can be expected that this will not last very long.

* * *

Siot Tanquingcen is not unfamiliar to the role of conductor of an orchestra of virtuosos. Once everybody settles into the roles they are assigned, San Miguel should be quite a force to deal with in the tournament.

In the backcourt, they have Jonas Villanueva, Olsen Racela, Mike Cortez and Miranda and up front, there are Mick Pennisi, Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle and Santos.

That’s not even the complete lineup and still you can make two great starting fives. San Miguel has enough interchangeable parts that will be useful when the wear and tear of a long conference kicks in.

* * *

Take nothing away from Ginebra though.

Back with its core of Caguioa, Helterbrand, Menk and Tubid for the first time in a while, the Gin Kings play with a passion that is the envy of many teams. What it lacks in size, Ginebra makes up for with spunk and emotional runs that can overhaul leads and inspire breakaways.

The return of Caguioa is an early Yuletide gift for the Ginebra legions. They would rather have The Spark playing for them than not at all. His 17-point comeback performance against San Miguel could be a sign of good tidings to come for the Barangay.

The acquaintance party is on.

The teams that shortens the getting-to-know-you part of the season will have the best shots at choice spots at the end of the classification phase.

Source: Inquirer.net