Leo Austria admitted that he will face the biggest battle of his coaching career as he tries to lead the San Miguel Beermen to a historic third straight crown against his idol Tim Cone and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in their best-of-seven finals in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Austria is eyeing his fourth crown in as many attempts against the PBA’s greatest taskmaster in Cone, who is aiming for his 20th championship and a second straight since becoming Ginebra coach in late-2015.
“Coach Tim is my idol. He’s a hard worker,” Austria said during yesterday’s press conference at the Sambokojin restaurant in Eastwood City, Libis.
“Makikita mo naman he’s a great coach, the greatest in the Philippines right now. Every team nagagawan niya ng paraan para madala sa championship,” he added.
While flattered at the compliment, Cone said that it’s Ginebra which will enter the series which starts tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena as the underdog.
“If you remember there was this ‘Petronovela’ before he took it over,” Cone said, recalling the days when San Miguel fell on hard times with numerous issues prior to Austria’s arrival. “He has got that team working like a well-oiled machine. They play hard together and they sacrifice for each other.
“I honestly feel like the underdog going into the series. They’re playing great basketball and we got to find a way to see if we can make them play uncomfortable. That’s all we can do.”
The Austria-Cone battle at the sidelines will be one of the subplots of a series that will feature two of the most popular franchises in the PBA. It will be the fifth time that the San Miguel sister teams will meet in the championship after surviving a pair of grueling semifinal series.
San Miguel will look to join the Talk ‘N Text teams from 2011 to 2013 to win three straight Philippine Cup titles and own the league’s Perpetual Trophy, while Ginebra is out to capture a second consecutive title after enduring eight years of frustration.
While it will be a battle of sister teams, Beermen forward Arwind Santos, known for his movie-like statements, said both squads are not going to give an inch.
“Kahit nasa isang bahay kami, di maiiwasan na pag nasa game na kami, magbubuno pa rin kami,” said Santos.