AZ Reid. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Just by reading his body language, there is no doubt that Arizona Reid is determined to carry San Miguel to the promised land this conference.
Even his coach sees it.
“AZ Reid doesn’t want to lose. You can see it in his eyes. He wants to win very bad,” said Beermen coach Leo Austria.
And Reid is not shy to hide it.
“Words can’t explain how happy I’ll be to get back to the Finals, to have the opportunity to play here again in front of Filipino fans,” said Reid, after San Miguel took a 2-1 series lead via 114-108 Game 3 victory on Monday.
And he’s letting his game do the talking, steering the Beermen with his 37-point outing on a torrid 7-of-10 shooting from rainbow country.
“If they’ll let me catch-and-shoot, I’ll do it and won’t miss. My approach won’t change. I’m happy that my shots went in,” Reid said, as the dread-locked dynamo shifted his focus on possibly the clincher on Wednesday. “We just got to focus on Game 4, and hopefully have the same outcome as this game.”
On the brink of another championship stint, Reid reiterated his stand on his quest for one final title in the PBA, saying that a championship with San Miguel should be the fitting end to an unbelievable four years of service he had in the PBA.
“I’m done. I’m dead serious. My body can’t take it no more,” he said. My body’s been breaking down now and I’m taped up. As an import, the job is very tough. If I was a local, I’ll play until 40 like Asi (Taulava), but I’m an import and I’ve been here for four years. I’m thankful for Rain or Shine and San Miguel for these amazing four years.”
But before he makes future plans, he stopped himself and went back to the task at hand, which is Game 4 against the Elasto Painters.
“It’s a series. When you lose a game, you can’t jump ahead. You got to bounce back and keep playing hard. Stay focused on the goal, and that’s to take it one game at a time,” said Reid. “We’re not looking ahead to Alaska, but we’re focused on Game 4.”
And for the Beermen to do such, it all starts on the defensive end, which has been the key for them in their wins.
“The key to this is defense. We need to stop (Wendell) McKines in the middle and they have some shooters. You hope they miss their shots and tonight they did. We did a good job on McKines keeping him off the rebounds,” he said.
“Just play hard, trust each other, and play defense. That’s it.”