Francis Arnaiz

Francis Arnaiz

Personal information
Born	(1951-06-04) June 4, 1951 (age 72) Ginebra San Miguel
Career highlights and awards
10x PBA Champion PBA Hall of Fame (2005) PBA's 40 Greatest Players (2015) PBA's 25 Greatest Players (2000) 3× PBA Mythical First Team (1975, 1976, 1982 )
Medals Men’s basketball Representing  Philippines FIBA Asia Championship 1973 Manila Team competition

Francis C. Arnaiz (born June 4, 1951) is a

Early basketball years

Arnaiz had a love for sports and would shoot stuffed toys into a basket during his early childhood. While studying at La Salle-Bacolod in elementary school, he competed in both football and basketball. Football provided him with speed and exceptional footwork, skills that would later contribute to his development as an outstanding basketball player. He led his high school, St. Clement's Academy of La Paz, Iloilo City, to the PRISAA basketball championship. In college, he played for Ateneo de Manila, which won the 1969 NCAA basketball championship during his rookie year.^[1]

In 1971, he began playing in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), first with the Meralco Reddy Kilowatts in 1971, the U/Tex Weavers in 1972 and the Toyota Comets in 1973.

He was a member of the

Arnaiz was one of the original members of the Toyota franchise that joined the newly formed Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in 1975. Along with Robert Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez, he formed the troika of the vaunted Toyota offense. In fact, among the three players, he would have been the first to have won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award right in the very first season of the league in 1975 when media covering the PBA named him as the Basketball Player of the Year despite the fact that Bogs Adornado was the one named PBA MVP that year.^[2] During his Toyota years, the franchise won nine PBA titles while having memorable battles against arch-rival Crispa Redmanizers, going head-to-head, on and off the court, with Crispa's Bernie Fabiosa. Arnaiz became one of the most popular players on the team not only for his playing style, but also for his mestizo looks, which gained him a following among the female fans.

He was given the moniker "Mr. Clutch" for his propensity to hit clutch baskets during crucial moments of a game. He is known for looping layups against imports and local behemoths that were impossible to block, and booming outside shots.

After Toyota disbanded in 1984, Arnaiz followed Jaworski in a controversial move to Gilbey's Gin (now known as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel). Reprising their old backcourt partnership in Toyota, the duo turned the Gins into a perennial contender. However, he was sidelined due to a knee injury and was placed in the injured list but, was part of the line-up, during the early part of 1986 Open Conference when Ginebra San Miguel won its first PBA title. He quietly retired from basketball shortly afterwards. He won 10 championship in his illustrious PBA career, 9 with Toyota and 1 with Ginebra San Miguel.

Retirement

After his playing career, Arnaiz immigrated to the United States, resided in California. He worked for the California state government while also becoming an evangelist. Arnaiz claims in an interview that his life abroad was quite different from his life in the Philippines. He is also a visual artist, some of his paintings are set to be displayed in Dante Silverio's gallery.^[3]

Arnaiz was named as one of the PBA's

• Member,
  (champions)
• Member, 1974 World Basketball Championship - Philippine team, Puerto Rico

References