Washington is PBAPC's Best Player of the Week

Jay Washington adopted a “Whatever it takes" attitude for San Miguel Beer’s successful semifinals stint against crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra. The versatile forward again came up with his multi-faceted game just when the Beermen needed it most. His solid all-around game helped his team advance to the PBA Philippine Cup finals, and earned him the hands-down choice as the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period Jan. 10 to 16. It marked the second straight week Washington was cited, and the third time in the conference. The 29-year-old forward was also honored for the week spanning Nov. 15-21. The San Antonio, Zambales native posted averages of 12 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and 1.6 blocked shots in the week that was, helping to steer the Beermen to a 4-2 triumph over the Gin Kings. The series win set up the Beermen for a championship showdown with early finalist Talk N Text, where Washington will be a vital cog in SMB’s drive. He was most impressive in San Miguel’s two wins. He finished with 19 points, a career-high 20 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 54 minutes when the Beermen notched a 108-104 double overtime decision last Wednesday, and came up with 12 points and 15 boards in the series-clinching 89-86 squeaker last Sunday. But the former top overall rookie pick would not take all the credit for himself. “I’m so happy to be in there, seeing how all the guys worked to get us to this point. It’s a great, great team effort," said Washington, who beat teammate Arwind Santos (13.0 points, 8.3 rebounds) for the last citation of the conference. Washington is right on track to bagging a second straight Best Player of the Conference award, which he first won in the last Fiesta Conference. For Washington, there’s nothing more special than meeting his former team, Talk N Text, in the finals. The 6-foot-7 athletic forward was traded to the Beermen by the Tropang Texters two seasons ago. The finals begin on Saturday in Victorias City. “I have plenty left, especially for Talk N Text. You all know that’s my old team, whatever," he said with a snicker. Turning more serious, he stated: “We accomplished our goal and we still have one more to accomplish, and that is to win the championship." - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV