J-Wash stays positive

For San Miguel Beer’s Jay Washington, it’s not about dwelling on the negatives but working on the positives.

San Miguel has now been officially eliminated in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 1-7 record and a game left in its schedule – against Rain Or Shine on April 6. PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon certified that the last time San Miguel failed to advance beyond the eliminations was in the 2005-06 Fiesta Conference with coach Joseph Uichico. Only twice has the franchise been struck out in the last 37 conferences since the 1996 Governors Cup, added Mangonon.

Six teams have won at least three games so far – Talk ‘N’ Text (6-1), Smart Gilas (6-1), Alaska (5-2), Barangay Ginebra (5-2), B-Meg (4-4) and Rain Or Shine (3-4). Since San Miguel can only win up to two games, the Beermen are now out of contention.

Four squad will be booted out of contention at the end of the eliminations. At the moment, the last four placers are Air 21 (2-4), Meralco (2-5), Powerade (2-6) and San Miguel (1-7). The Express has three games to go so coach Bong Ramos’ charges could win as many as five to boost their chances of advancing. Air 21 plays a critical match against Meralco tomorrow, Powerade on Sunday and Alaska on April 6.

There could be a four-way tie for sixth place if B-Meg loses its last game to Talk ‘N’ Text, Rain Or Shine wins only one of its last two games (against Alaska and San Miguel), Air 21 wins two of its last three and Meralco wins its last two assignments (against Air 21 and Smart Gilas). In this situation, all four teams finish with identical 4-5 records. The tie will be broken by the quotient system where the scores of the four teams against each other are computed on a for-and-against basis.

Washington, 29, is in his sixth PBA season and third as a Beerman after starting his career with Talk ‘N’ Text. He has played on only one championship team – in 2008-09 with San Miguel. J-Wash was the Fiesta Conference best player last season although San Miguel lost to Alaska in the finals.

“To me, losing isn’t an option,” said Washington in a recent chat. “I take it hard when we lose. But I try to take it differently. I realize how blessed we are. I look at the positives, not the negatives. It’s important for our rookies to think that it’s not their fault that we’re losing. They shouldn’t take it like we’re losing because of them. They’re part of our team now. We’ve got to work together and make each other better. We’ll just enjoy playing the rest of the conference.”

It’s never easy to change horses at midstream. Without the benefit of any team-building exercise, San Miguel brought in three rookies – Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra – after the Commissioner’s Cup began. Paolo Hubalde also joined in from Barako Bull. Traded to Air 21 to make room for the newcomers were Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena, Dondon Hontiveros and Paul Artadi.

“It’s been hard to adjust,” said Washington. “The rookies are just learning the ropes in the PBA and now, they’ve got to learn our system. Before, our veterans could just take care of our lapses. Now, it’s different. No question, the talent is there with the new guys. They’re willing to learn and they learn fast. Rabeh is a great offensive player. Noy is a shot blocker and a tough defensive player. Rey is a big guard who can shoot. I still think the future looks good for San Miguel.”

For Washington, saying goodbye to Seigle was painful. “I learned a lot from Danny,” said Washington. “I was kind of the guy who was supposed to someday step into his shoes. Now, he’s no longer around. I still keep in touch with him, though. We’re professionals so we’ve got to accept the realities of playing professional basketball.”

Washington never got to hit his stride in the conference, hampered by a strained hamstring that put his capacity level only up to 75 percent. He sat out a game and should’ve been sidelined in more outings to rest his aching body. But Washington insisted to play. In the previous conference, Washington averaged 16.6 points and 10 rebounds. This conference, he is norming 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds.

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Two Filipino fighters lost in a pair of world title bouts in South Africa last Saturday night. Johnriel Casimero surrendered at 1:51 of the fifth round to defending IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane at the Nasrec Indoor Arena in Johannesburg while Danilo Pena was thrashed by a unanimous 12-round decision by Tshifhiwa Munyai for the vacant IBO superbantamweight crown at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park.

Casimero spat out his mouthpiece and waved the white flag at the height of Mthalane’s blistering attack, prompting referee Wally Snowball to step in. A ringside report said Casimero quit “abruptly” and appeared to be hurt by some serious body shots. He hadn’t fought in eight months and the title crack seemed to come in poor timing.

Pena was never in the thick of things against Munyai. The scorecards proved it – 120-108, 119-109 and 118-108, all for the South African. Pena was coming off a loss to Takuya Kogawa in Tokyo last October and probably didn’t deserve the title shot. Both Casimero and Pena were huge underdogs. Their chances to win were slim or none. To date, no Filipino has ever won in a world championship bout in South Africa. Perhaps, the closest a Filipino has come to winning a world title in South Africa was in 2004 when Bert Batawang stopped Sithembile Kibiti in the seventh round in Western Cape for the vacant WBA Pan African lightflyweight crown. Unfortunately, the Pan African title doesn’t qualify as a world championship.

In the undercard of the Pena-Munyai mainer, another Filipino Vinvin Rufino saw action and lost a split 12-round decision to defending WBC International superfeatherweight champion Sipho Taliwe. The scorecards read 116-110 and 113-112 for Taliwe and a wide 115-111 for Rufino. It was a rematch between the fighters. In their first meeting last November, Taliwe scored a majority 12-round verdict over Rufino for the vacant WBC International 130-pound belt.