by Jonas Terrado
There’s now reason for the San Miguel Beermen to push the panic button after being dealt with a shock 134-132 overtime loss to the underdog Columbian Dyip.
The defeat which happened last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum sent the Beermen spiraling to a 2-5 record and in danger of possibly missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup.
“Yung laro namin hindi pa talaga ganun ka-100 percent,” said San Miguel’s Arwind Santos, perhaps alluding to the slump caused by having to rest for only three weeks following its hard-fought Philippine Cup title victory over Magnolia.
SMB’s struggles are evident with a 121-88 loss to NorthPort in its opening assignment last June 5 and a 118-82 setback to Magnolia last Wednesday in a rematch of the Philippine Cup Finals.
Coach Leo Austria’s team is also dealing with the absence of Terrence Romeo due to an Achilles injury while Santos, import Charles Rhodes, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot continue to search for consistency.
The game against the Dyip was supposed to be an easy win for the Beermen but were forced to play catch up for most of the way.
San Miguel appeared to have found momentum when Santos sent the game into overtime with a three-point shot in the final second of regulation but failed to capitalize on the momentum.
“Ang sama ng depensa namin, ang taas ng score. Hindi yun yung San Miguel talaga,” he said.
There’s no other recourse for SMB but to at least have a winning record in its final four games of the eliminations, first against NLEX on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Up next is Phoenix Pulse on July 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Rain or Shine on July 13 in Cagayan de Oro City and Meralco on July 17 at the Big Dome.
