The Incredible Abe King
COMING OF AGE OF A ONETIME ‘PROBLEM BOY’
By Peter N. Acosta
Sports Weekly Magazine
June 29-July 6, 1979
Earlier in the elimination competitions of the current PBA All-Filipino, Abe King had tried to pull off one-handed dunks. Both times, all he got for his effort was a titter from the crowd as the ball hit the inner rim of the goal and bounced out.
But last June 16, in, of all games, the first encounter between the Toyota Tamaraws and the Crispa Redmanizers in the double round semifinals, King caught a pass from Ramon Fernandez and just when it seemed as all he would do with his solo stint under the basket was to go for a higher percentage lay-up shot, he twisted and rammed the ball in a reverse dunk ala Dr. J.
It was a stunning grandstand play by King and for it, he drew cheers from the packed house thatg attended the packed house that attended the third meeting in the 1979 All-Filipino between the league's two titans.
Asked later in the Toyota dugout why he chose to pull off a shot which in the past had caused him embarrassment, the well-built King, a 1977 Toyota draftee from the Tamaraws’ Frigidaire “farm” team in the MICAA, replied, almost sheepishly, “I knew that I could do it now.”
“I was all fired up," he added, "besides, I believe I am more confident this season than I’ve ever been since I started in the pros.”
Confidence — this is the name of Abe King’s incredible game in this, his third season in the PBA and never has this new-found poise of this ballplayer who had once been a “problem boy” of Toyota head coach Dante Silverio showed more than in his performance in the All-Filipino’s semifinal round.
Teaming up devastatingly with league-leading MVP candidate Ramon Fernandez and Sonny Jaworski in the battle for the rebounds, King has turned out to one of the strongest pillars of Toyota’s offense and defense.
In the first four games which the Tamaraws won in the semis to become the first qualifier in the title playoffs, it was the triumvirate of Jaworski, Fernandez and King which acted as the linchpins of the running game employed by the Tams to run down their opponents.
And in the fifth playdate of the double round semis, which Fernandez had to temporarily get out of the line up because of a bout with the flu, it was King who ably pinch-hit for the bedridden Fernandez.
Playing Fernandez’ role for the first time against Crispa in the second Toyota-Crispa clash in the round of four, King proved that he could be a lethal offensive weapon if given the opportunity when he came through with a prodigious 60point output in a shootout with Crispa’s Atoy Co who shot 50 even as the Tams dropped a 172-142 decision to the Redmanizers.
With that effort, King erased the old season-high individual scoring mark of 51 earlier held by Tony Torrente of Royal Tru Orange.
But more than enabling King to become the new holder of the '79 All-Filipino top individual output, the performance added a new sheen to King’s first sparkling season in the PBA.
“No doubt about it,” says a teammate, “Abe has come of age. He's playing the best season of his career.”
From a player in an opposing team Billy Robinson of Filmanbank, has also come this accolade: “That King, he has come a long way this year.” Billy then recalled a conversation he had with Crispa’s Philip Cesar and during which both of them agreed that in two or three years, King if he stays healthy, will be a dominant figure in the PBA.
Says Billy: “He's young, he's strong. If only he can polish his shooting, why that cat is going to be one of the giants of the league in the future.”
Billy adds that “definitely, this has been a terrific season” for Abe and his assessment finds strong support in the statistics which show King sixth in the list of rebound leaders in the second round with a 10.25 rebounds per game average.
In the semifinals, King, who's noted for everything but his shooting ability, racked up 155 points in six games for an average of 25.83 points per game. Thrice in the semis, he was Toyota's high point man, scoring 29 point: against Filmanbank, 60 against Crispa and 26 against Tanduay.
Along with Jaworski, Fernandez, Francis Arnais and rookie Arnulfo Tuadles, King is in Toyota's first string, a great jump for a third season Toyota man who last year found himself in the Toyota doghouse because of his nocturnal habits which displeased Dante Silverio no end.
Later, however, King got out of the doghouse and back in the good graces of Dante since then, it seems there’s no stopping him from making it as one of the awesome performers not only of the Toyota ballclub but the whole league as well.
With Fernandez expected to rejoin the Tamaraws in the title playoffs, King will no doubt be returned to his old role as Toyota’s co-chairman of the boards and when the opportunity arises, breaking the spirit of the other side with his power dunks. — PNA
No comments:
Post a Comment