Who's Better - Florencio or Adornado?

Sports Event : Who's Better Florencio or Adornado?

Date : Sportsworld 1979 by E. A. Perez De Tagle

WHO'S BETTERFLORENCIO OR ADORNADO? 

BATTLE OF THE FORWARDS
By E. A. PEREZ DE TAGLE

The tall, well-built young man with the slightway wayward right eye sprung from the bench as his name was called and the bleachers and the reserved area and yes, the box section reverberated with cheers. It was William Adornado, Bogs to fans and No. 1 in the forward line to connoisseurs of the dash and dribble game. Time there was. just 11 months before, when Adornado was not the ultra pick, when despite his having made the Olympics in Munich in 1972 he was alternately No. 2 or 3 gunner in the Crispa lineup. This was at the time of Crispa's magnificence, before the pin of scandal pricked the balloon of Crispa invincibility. This was during the last All-Filipino to be stand by the Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association fresh into the year 1973, when the dreaded Crispa line boasted of shooters the like of Danny Florencio and Adriano Papa Jr., of behemoths like Rudolf Kutch and Reynaldo Alcantara, of spitfires like Virgilio Abarrientos and ironmen like Ernie de Leon. The axe fell and left the hardcourt sidelines littered with discredited Redmanizers. The scuttlebutt was that only Danny Pecache. the chinky-eyed guard who claims moviestar Blanca Gomez as his own, was not involved in the point-shaving that not according to the script led to successive setbacks against Mariwasa. Three other Crispans were linked to the dastardly deed: prize rookie Fortunato (Atoy) Co, Rodolfo (the Magician) Soriano and Reynaldo Franco. But while all nine were meted life-long suspensions Ca. Soriano and Franco rein the Crisp lineup. 

Not so with Papa et al, and for a long while it was be lieved that the careers of the six Crispans involved were at an end. But hope springs eternal in the human breast, so went the quote, and the six kept at play, Danny Florencio more so. Danny, now 26, has always been the compleat competi tor. He convulses at misses is beside himself in chagri on muffs until he wipes out the humiliation with who won for the Philippines conversion. This was the kid in the closing minutes t 1967 Asian Basketball Co federation championship Seoul, Korea. This was fiery fighter who every national selection from thereon until he was ign miniously scuttled by scan the graced dal. And with his and Papas other departure there was no claimant to the top forward throne except Adornado the fellow with the educat It remained that way for more than 365 days until after the latest MICAA extravaganza, won by Concepcion Industries: the last tournaRicoment for the Puerto bound national cagers, which meant Adornado along with Abet Guidaben, Joy Cleofas, Bobby Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Big Boy Reynoso, Tito Fernandez, Bong Melencio, Jimmy Mariano, Manny Paner. Yoyong Martirez Dave Regullano were to play no longer for their respective outfits. and See on the battle Adornado and the fellow whom every other fellow plus Some picks as better than Adornado Dum Dum Danwhile Adornado took to the never transpired; wings, Florencio came back onstage in the National Open, and made as if he never left right off the bat with a 30point performance that had him scoring 13 out of 14 field attempts: a smash show all the way.

When the smoke of battle cleared early April, U-Tex was in runnerup position, equal with champion Yco in record two wins against a loss but loser by the quotient system. Danny, twice hitting 30 in 10 games and never going below 18 a game, had 229 points to show for an average of 22.9 against 336 in 17 games for Adornado for an average of 19.77 in the MICAA Open. So does the difference of three points a game production make Florencio the better shot than Adornado? Hardly. What makes Florencio the better forward there. the writer is committed is the fact that Florencio can and does operate with without the deadly effect need of a screen, something that Bogs Adornado, and the other hotshot to outscore Danny in the Open besides six-foot-six Israel Oliver, Mariwasa's Jun Papa, cannot do without. While Adornado and Papa are dead shots, they can't do a Muhammad Ali sting like a bee and dance like a butterfly against the opposition the way Danny does.

When Florencio and Atoy Co first tangled, the Crispan nearly resembled a high school dribbler up against an established star. Johnny Revilla managed to sideline Florencio for a half, but it took a busted eyebrow to keep Danny on the bench. The butt was unintentional. SMC's Wilfredo Velasco foresook finesse and smacked Danny one, drawing a game's suspension for the punch he threw. It's just about the only way one can stop Danny, again the country's deadliest hardcourt gunner.