Beermen welcome back Freeman, test Painters' mettle

Defending champion San Miguel welcomes the return of import Gabe Freeman as the troubled franchise tries to arrest a three-game slide when it takes on Rain or Shine Friday night in the PBA Fiesta Cup. After racking nine straight wins and appeared headed trouble-free to the semifinals, things began to unravel for the Beermen, who lost four of their last five outings and found themselves just a game ahead of sister-team Derby Ace (10-5) with their 11-5 record in the fight for the remaining automatic berth to the Final Four. Two of those losses came in the absence of Freeman, whom San Miguel management said failed to suit up owing to a flu, but was rumored to have been tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Last year’s Fiesta Cup Best Import ironically, appeared before the PBA Commissioner’s Office Thursday, although Sonny Barrios, the league commissioner, refused to give any detail over what transpired during the discussion. But Freeman’s presence alone at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium for the Beermen’s 7:30 p.m. date with the Elasto Painters (7-8) is definitely a sigh of relief for a team that has also undergone coaching changes following the appointment of assistant mentor Ato Agustin as interim coach in lieu of Siot Tanquingcen. For the second straight game, Agustin will call the shot for the Beermen despite losing in his initial foray as head coach, an 89-86 setback against Coca-Cola, which was bailed out by a timely three-pointer by Mark Macapagal. A reliable source said Agustin, a former San Miguel great who has won championships in the NCAA and PBL as a rookie coach, is being groomed to be the next mentor of the Beermen. Tanquingcen, officially the head coach of the winningest franchise in PBA history, eventually will be shipped to Ginebra as an assistant to Jong Uichico, the source added. In the event Agustin is officially named San Miguel coach, the 1992 MVP winner and voted as one of the league’s 25 Greatest Players, will be forced to give up his mentoring chores in the amateur leagues since a common rule in the PBA and in the NCAA prohibits coaches from handling two teams in both leagues at the same time. The Beermen however, are not the only ones who are in a bind. Rain or Shine, which lost to Alaska last time out, is struggling. The team was set to part ways with Jai Lewis. Lewis, the burly import and college teammate of Gabe Norwood with the George Mason University Patriots, has been ineffective the past few games. Lewis finished with only 10 points in 38 minutes during the the Elasto Painters’ loss to the Alaska Aces last June 16. Several games back, the import was held down to a conference-low three points. Sources within Rain or Shine bared that at the moment, the team is negotiating with another import, Rod Nealy, who once suited up for Ginebra. Rain or Shine is trying to avoid a second straight appearance in the wild card and will try to make the quarterfinals outright. The Elasto Painters can still make it to the quarterfinals if they sweep their final three games and Ginebra, at 9-7, drops its last two assignments. If not, the Elasto Painters should hope they end up tied with the Kings after the elimination round to forge a one-game playoff for the No. 5 spot. In the 5 p.m. opener, Sta. Lucia Realty and Air21 square off in an equally-crucial game to bolster their respective chances of advancing to the playoffs. Carrying a 4-11 card, the Realtors are on a six-game slide and have yet to win since trading marquee players Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes. But the Realtors will be hard-pressed to beat an Express squad which is slowly coming together as a team despite coming off a 98-94 loss to Alaska. Credit that to the entry of import Leroy Hickerson, who exploded for a season-high 46 points in the previous outing of the Express (3-12). The match will also see Billy Mamaril making his first appearance as an Express after being traded by Ginebra last week for guard Mike Cortez. - RCJ, GMANews.TV