Child custody case prompts Long’s hasty exit

San Miguel coach Jong Uichico said yesterday they could only hope for the best in their embattled stand in the Grand Matador PBA Fiesta Conference with the sudden departure of import Art Long.

"We’re just hoping for the best. If what we hope for doesn’t happen, we’ll just look forward to the next conference," said Uichico with the Beermen on the brink of elimination following a 0-2 win-loss start in the quarterfinals.

According to Uichico, Long left for home to attend to a custody case hearing over his child with his estranged wife in Philadelphia, compounding the Beermen’s woes in the PBA transition tourney which they curiously dominated during the eliminations.

"We have no control on his case. Actually, the hearing had been moved to another date once. Siguro wala ng magawa ang abogado ni Long para iurong uli ang hearing," said Uichico, denying reports Long was fired for getting involved in game-fixing or other controversies.

"That’s very wrong. But I don’t deny na bumaba ang laro niya sa quarterfinals. We’ve seen what he can do during the elims. He failed to show what he’s capable of doing in the quarters," said Uichico.

Long was only a shade of his usual self as the Beermen lost their games versus the Red Bull Barako Thunder Wednesday and versus the Talk n Text Phone Pals Saturday.

"Siguro, yung pagbaba ng laro niya could be attributed to our long layoff. Baka nawala ang rhythm," said Uichico.

The Beermen automatically bow out of the race for the semifinals if the Phone Pals beat the US Pro-Ams today.

The only chance for San Miguel to salvage a playoff for the next round is if the US Pro-Ams beat the Phone Pals today then the Beermen win over the Americans and the Red Bull Thunder top the Phone Pals this coming weekend.

With the kind of situation they have found themselves in, Uichico said they would have a hard time getting a quality import to replace Long.

"Madaling magpadating ng kapalit na import. Pero ang mahirap kumuha ng quality import sa ganitong situation," Uichico said.

The Beermen were fancied to make the semis after emerging the top team in the double-round eliminations with a 16-2 win-loss cards. But they saw their fortunes taking a big turn after the losses to Red Bull and Talk n Text.