In this blog we are going to tell you about Abarrientos, so read this blog carefully to get the complete information.
Johnny Abarrientos, a former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association, was born on July 17, 1970.
He was also a player of the Philippine National Team for many years & won the PBA Most Valuable Player title in 1996, becoming the league’s youngest player to do so. When he first joined the Alaska Milkmen in 1993, he was nicknamed as The Flying A.
He is now the head football coach of the FEU Tamaraws as well as an interim coach for the Magnolia Hotshots.
Earlier Career and Profession
Abarrientos started his basketball career with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, where he appeared alongside future NBA player Victor Pablo & captained the Tamaraws to two UAAP championships in 1991 & 1992. FEU resigned his #14 jersey on July 6, 2011.
Prior to joining the PBA, he competed for the Crispa Redmanizers & Triple-V in the Philippine Basketball League.
Professional Basketball Player
Alaska Aces
Abarrientos was chosen third in the league in the 1993 PBA Draft by Alaska, and he had a strong rookie campaign. He was named to the RP National team for the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, in his season 2.
Abarrientos coached Alaska to 8 PBA championships from 1994 to 1998, including that of the grand slam-winning 1996 tournament.
Over the same season, he was selected Most Valuable Player & Best Player of the Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup.
In 1997, Charlotte Hornets scout Joe Bettancourt granted Abarrientos a deal to join in the Hornets’ pre-season program, sparking speculation about his NBA future. Abarrientos, on the other hand, turned down the chance to focus on his professional life in the PBA.
Related: Sheila Dikshit Bio
Career in Basketball Began to Wane
Abarrientos was a member of the Philippine Centennial Squad in 1998, which was instructed by his Alaska advisor Tim Cone.
The Nationals won bronze in the Bangkok Asian Games with Alvin Patrimonio, as well as fellow Alaska colleagues Kenneth Duremdes, Bong Hawkins, & Jojo Lastimosa.
Abarrientos was given the name one of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players of All-Time 2 years later, on April 9, 2000, as part of the league’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
Although the Aces won the All-Filipino championship that year, Abarrientos’ popularity began to wane. Abarrientos & Poch Juinio were traded to the Pop Cola Panthers just after the campaign for Ali Peek & Jon Ordonio.
Pop Cola Panthers
In his one campaign with the Panthers in 2001, Abarrientos kept putting up a respectable showing. Pop Cola came in third in the All-Filipino Cup thanks to Rudy Hatfield & previous Alaska colleagues Lastimosa & Juinio.
After that year, the San Miguel Corporation purchased Pop Cola & named the team the Coca-Cola Tigers.
RELATED – Sarah Ward Biography: Know About This Politician In Brief
Coca-Cola Tigers
Abarrientos was a member of the RP Training Pool for the Busan Asian Games before joining the Tigers in 2002, but then was finally cut. Later in the Governor’s Cup, he reappeared to guide Coca-Cola to a third-place victory. Abarrientos guided his squad to the All-Filipino championships versus Alaska.