AZ’s warrior mentality

San Miguel Beer import Arizona Reid suffered an ankle sprain in the second quarter of the PBA Governors Cup game against Columbian Dyip at the Big Dome last Friday. He didn’t score in that period, playing only 5:53 minutes and took a rest on the bench. But in the third stanza, AZ was back on the floor. The pain was bearable although it hadn’t gone away. Still, Reid was determined to go out and rumble. He hit 14 points in 11:28 minutes as San Miguel outscored Columbian, 43-18, overturning a two-point halftime deficit.

Coach Leo Austria thought of keeping AZ on the bench in the fourth period with the outcome virtually settled to preserve him for the big game against Barangay Ginebra tonight. But when someone said Reid was two assists short of a triple double, AZ asked to check back in. He finished with 16 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists in 32:35 minutes as San Miguel bludgeoned Columbian, 143-119.

After the game, AZ said he’s not the type to pull back because of pain. Will he play against Ginebra? “Hell, yeah,” he said. “That’s a big game. I’m not missing that for the world.” Reid is in town without his wife Kelly and their two kids, Arizona IV, 4 and Phoenix, 1, who stayed behind in their Fort Myers, Florida, home. “I’m here alone,” he said. “I’m just focused on playing and winning. No family first. Once we’re in the playoffs, they’ll fly in. But not before. I’ve got business to do.”

Reid, 32, is in his seventh PBA conference, fourth with San Miguel. The former High Point University star previously suited up for Rain Or Shine where he earned two Best Import awards. He’s won only one championship so far, the 2015 edition of the Governors Cup. AZ said he wants another one.

“I think AZ is a warrior and knows what needs to be done to be successful but the challenge always for our team is how to make the locals play as a cohesive unit, day-in and day-out, considering imports are a major addition in this conference,” said San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla. “We’re still feeling the absence of JuneMar (Fajardo) but we have to find ways to make our team click. Hopefully, everything falls into place.”

Fajardo, the reigning back-to-back-to-back-to-back MVP, is still hampered by a stress fracture in his right shin and walks around in a boot. He probably won’t be ready until San Miguel’s ninth game so that means a sit-out of at least five more outings. But the good news is Fajardo may be ready to play for Team Pilipinas when Kazakhstan comes over to battle in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers on Nov. 30.

Without Fajardo, San Miguel is 2-1 in the ongoing Governors Cup. But even with Fajardo missing, the Beermen looked devastating in dismantling Columbian with 23 triples. Arwind Santos erupted for 29 points, fueled by seven triples, and overshot his 3.5 average in the first two games by a mile. “Arwind is more comfortable at four but he’s now adjusting to playing three,” said Austria. “With AZ, Christian (Standhardinger) and Kelly (Nabong), we’ve got bigs who can play four or five. It’s a plus when Arwind plays three because of the mismatch he creates. Then, we’ve got Marcio (Lassiter) who can play two or three. A lot of teams like Ginebra play three bigs so we have to be ready to match up.”

Reid’s work ethic is expressed by the words “Hard Work” and “Dedication” tattooed on his left bicep. In all, AZ has 36 tattoos all over his body, including 16 made here. A Filipino artist tattooed the word “Blessed” over his initials AZ on his back. 

Two things not too many fans know about AZ are he’s one of only 112 players in history to register at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his NCAA career and he’s a naturalized Armenian eligible to play for the Armenian national team. Among the players in the elite cast of 112 are legends Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning and Rick Barry. Also in the list are former PBA imports LaDontae Henton, Nick Fazekas, Byron Houston, Daren Queenan, Joe Binion, Harry Kelly and Rudy Macklin. A current import in the roster is Alaska’s Mike Harris.

AZ has played in Italy, Finland, Australia, Lebanon, Switzerland, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Russia and France. But even as playing basketball is his life, AZ made sure he has something to fall back on when his sneaker days are over. He earned a recreation management degree at High Point, a private liberal arts school in North Carolina.