Peña provides spark for resurgent Beermen

Dorian Peña has been given a variety of monikers before, but there’s just one he wants to be known by.

"Junkyard Dawg," offered the burly 6-foot-8 center, referring to his current role with defending champion San Miguel Beer in the PBA Fiesta Conference.

"I’m here to do the dirty work, clean whatever mess there may be. But mostly to grab the offensive rebound, play defense and pick up the scraps," he said.

He is also needed to provide some spark off the bench, a vastly different role from his starting position in the Beermen’s first five games.

That proved to be the hardest adjustment to make for him, tougher than learning coach Jong Uichico’s new plays.

"It was tough, especially when we went on losing," said the 28-year-old whose grandfather hails from Escalante, Iloilo. "So I just tried and stayed motivated."

That positive attitude has so far worked wonders, not only for Peña but also the Beermen, who are currently the hottest team in the tournament after winning four straight, a far cry from the same squad that lost eight of its first nine games.

At the forefront of that dramatic rise is Peña, named by the PBA Press Corps as its Player of the Week because of his consistency of play in a team that features the likes of Danny Seigle, Danny Ildefonso and Dondon Hontiveros.

In a 90-76 win over Coca-Cola last Friday, Peña had 11 points, on 5-of-6 field shooting, and 10 rebounds. He followed that up with 12 points and seven rebounds in a 74-68 victory over league-leader Purefoods Chunkee last Sunday.

In those four wins Peña has averages of 13.3 points, on a 53.5 percent field shooting, and 10 rebounds, half of them offensive.

He himself couldn’t quite explain the numbers, except to put the blame on the other teams.

"They’re not paying that much attention to me, so what I do is just follow the main men on our team, pick it up from there," he said.

What Peña does know is that SMB’s job is far from over, that it must first win all its last three remaining games in the eliminations to have a shot at being right in the middle of the nine-team field.

"It’s a little too early to be excited. There’s still a long way to go," he pointed out.

With the likes of Peña showing the way, however, there’s little doubt SMB will ultimately get the job done.