Wynne brings hope to Air21

MANILA, Philippines - Air21 guard Wynne Arboleda never imagined something positive would come out of the seven-month suspension he endured for engaging a fan during a PBA game against Smart-Gilas last conference but the feisty guard from Kalibo said the other day the sit-out has made him a better man.

“I suffered a lot,” he said. “I made a mistake but I’m not ashamed of what I did. I will always defend the honor of my (late) parents, particularly my mother. I come from a poor family. The people in Kalibo know my three brothers and I have no (bad) record. The day after the incident, a Kalibo radio station put me on the air because my provincemates were shocked and wanted to find out what happened. I explained my side. The people understood – they gave me hope.”

During his suspension, the 33-year-old Arboleda logged countless hours of community work. He went to Laguna, Rizal and Quezon City to conduct clinics for kids and play in barangay exhibitions.

“I never thought I would enjoy being with kids as much as I did,” said Arboleda. “I worked with Kids Ahoy in Quezon City and took care of 50 streetchildren in Antipolo. I gave away basketballs, volleyballs, badminton sets and other sports equipment to kids. I went to Paete and San Pedro. It felt good to see the smiles on the kids’ faces. I also did clinics for the PBA with coach Norman Black. It was fun but more than that, the experience opened my eyes to the things we can do with kids, to prepare them for the future.”

Arboleda said he also volunteered to assist in distributing ballots and PCOS machines in his home province for the recent elections.

“I was in Aklan for a week,” he related. “I picked up the ballots and PCOS machines from the airport in Kalibo then delivered to the 17 municipalities, three to four a day. We moved under heavy security, sometimes we were on the road for three or four hours, wondering if we would be ambushed.”

Arboleda, who has led the PBA in steals in two seasons, said he reported for practice when not doing community work.

“I tried never to miss practice,” he said. “I wanted to stay in shape. I joined the team for workouts but not for the drills in preparation for a game. The suspension made me closer to my wife (April Rose) and our two kids (Andy, 7, and Alwyn, 2). I also became close to our parish priest at Tahanan Village. Every Sunday morning, we would go to Mass then take breakfast at McDonald’s. The bonding made us closer as a family and it was a blessing.”

Now that he’s back on the court, Arboleda said he hopes to fire up his teammates. Air21 has a 2-11 record with five games left in the eliminations against Coca-Cola on Friday, Alaska on June 11, Sta. Lucia Realty on June 18, Barangay Ginebra on June 20 and Rain Or Shine on June 25.

“We’ll play every game like it’s a knockout or a championship game,” he said. “We’ll probably end up in the wildcards so we’ve got to be prepared to do or die. It’s not enough that we play hard or give a good effort. It’s important that we get back our winning attitude. We commit mistakes late in the game or at the end of every quarter because we relax and we don’t sustain our energy. If we play hard for 48 minutes, we’ll get the results we want. We can’t play hard for one or two quarters only. On the court, I try to remind my teammates what coach (Yeng Guiao) wants. It’s not about the players showing how good we are but whether we can work as a team.”

Arboleda said playing alongside Mike Cortez is a welcome development. “Mike is a tough player, a good defender with a strong body,” he said. “When coach makes us play together, Mike moves to two-guard so he has more chances to drive, score and get a higher percentage. What I like about him is he’s cool.”

As for import Reggie Larry, Arboleda said there’s no doubt that he’s talented.

“We try to motivate him to be more aggressive, to play harder because we rely on him to get us through,” said Arboleda. “We advise him to forget about the calls, to just get back on defense. He’s a good scorer and rebounder. We want him to be more intimidating. Anyway, intimidation is not a violation. Our former import Steve Thomas was scary. We want Larry to be as scary.”

Arboleda reintroduced himself to the PBA crowd by compiling 18 points, four rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes in his comeback game against San Miguel Beer last May 26.

“I felt like a rookie again,” said Arboleda, a PBA cager since 2000. “We missed Wesley (Gonzales) who had a sprain and we struggled in the three position. But we gave it a good fight. We lost by six. I think with five games left, we’ve got a good chance of bouncing back.”

Arboleda never lost hope of returning to the PBA during his long inactivity. It’s the same hope he brings to Air21 in the Express’ drive to stay alive in the Fiesta Conference.