By JONAS TERRADO
“I thought we looked pretty decent out there but there’s a lot to improve,” Ross said after the Beermen’s 104-96 win Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
San Miguel bucked a tight first half to take control of the contest, then saw off Phoenix’s late attempt at a comeback to take a positive first step in its drive to become the first team to win four straight championships in an all-Filipino conference.
The result came after what coach Leo Austria described as the team’s worst offseason marred by a loss to the Kia Picanto one of their preseason games. But like in the past, he saw his core players deliver the majority of the team’s production.
June Mar Fajardo overcame Phoenix’s gang defending on him and had 23 points and 16 rebounds while Ross, Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos also reached the double figures to weather off Phoenix’s stingy defense under new coach Louie Alas.
“Fortunately, all of our starters scored in double figures. I did not expect they will score a lot because this is the worst offseason we have,” said Austria, whose starters accounted for all but nine of the Beermen’s scoring output.
One aspect San Miguel is likely improve is the 22 turnovers it committed against Phoenix’s full-court pressure, another example of why the team expects its journey for another championship would be harder than expected.
“Walang madali,” said Fajardo. “Mahirap yun para sa amin kasi nga yung ibang team, pinaghahandaan kami. Yung ibang teams, lumalakas so hindi naming kailangan magrelax.”