By REY MAGALLON
Beau Belga is not to be bullied on his own turf.
The 6-foot-5 Rain or Shine center was in no way backing down even against taller and heftier imports of the other teams although he admitted that his response to San Miguel Beer import Diamond Stone might have come too costly for his team.
The 6-foot-5 wide-bodied center hit the showers with still under five minutes left in the contest after being assessed with a flagrant foul penalty 2 and figuring in a verbal altercation with the SMB import before cooler heads prevailed.
Stone was also called for a technical foul for trash talking while coach Yeng Guiao and Chris Ross were likewise meted the same infractions for their own verbal exchange.
“Tinitrash talk nya ako eh syempre the pride of being a local di ako papayag na gaganun ganunin ako ng isang dayuhan so I just said something na di maganda,” said Belga after the team suffered a 113-105 defeat to the Beermen in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Sunday, Oct.9.
“And yun pinaalala sa akin ni coach Yeng na you can’t do that dahil mas lalo kang di makakatulong sa team, magus-suffer yung team mo and with the close game kailangan yung tulong sa team so learning lessons for us losing this game,” he added.
Indeed Belga’s ejection left a gaping hole inside the paint for Rain or Shine as Steve Taylor couldn’t hold the fort on his own especially against Stone and June Mar Fajardo.
During that stretch, the Beermen pulled away for good with Fajardo and Stone pouncing on the ROS depleted interior defense combining for 18 of SMB’s 28 points.
For Stone’s part, what happened inside the playing is better to leave it at that as he refused to comment about the incident saying that it was just all part of basketball and both teams wanted to take the win.
“For me it’s just basketball, he knows it’s basketball, a lot of tension in the game both teams want to win, not ready to discuss that it’s just playing basketball,” said Stone.
After a subpar performance in his debut after he was tapped as a late replacement to original choice Thomas Robinson, Stone seemed to have finally adjusted well with the Beermen posting 42 points and 13 rebounds.
He joined hands with CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo in making sure that SMB won’t fall to the same trap of complacency which cost them the game against Blackwater in its debut.
SAN MIGUEL 113 – Stone 42, Fajardo 21, Perez 13, Herndon 8, Cruz 7, Manuel 7, Enciso 6, Lassiter 6, Ross 3, Tautuaa 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 105 – Taylor Jr. 20, Nambatac 19, Santillan 15, Mamuyac 13, Caracut 11, Asistio 11, Ponferrada 10, Belga 3, Demusis 3, Norwood 0, Borboran 0.
QUARTERS: 29-24, 61-59, 85-85, 113-105
