By REYNALD MAGALLON
It’s quite a rare sight that San Miguel Beer isn’t participating in the PBA playoffs but it’s something that the Beermen do not want to happen again especially in the Philippine Cup where everyone considers them as an automatic contender.
In a surprising twist in the Commissioner’s Cup, SMB failed to advance to the quarterfinals – its first time in the last decade – and the rest of the team are eager to bounce back and reclaim their lost winning form.
“The last conference was really frustrating for us because everybody was expecting us to do well. But a lot of things happened in the team, especially getting the right players, the imports not performing,” said head coach Leo Austria reflecting on SMB’s early exit last conference.
“There’s nothing to be blamed for, but it’s not an excuse. It’s a learning process for us,” he added.
Star guard CJ Perez also shared the same sentiments although he stressed that the team has since moved forward from it and even used that as a motivation in the all-Filipino conference.
“Sobrang frustrating na first time ko ata di nakapasok since nagsimula ako sa San MJiguel pero naging motivation sa amin na magtrabaho talaga,” said Perez who finished with 28 points in San Miguel’s 98-87 opening win over NLEX.
“We’ve been practicing for four weeks prinactice talaga namin. Siyempre pinaghandaan namin talagang nagpakundisyon kami, talagang nag-focus kami sa defense, kung ano yung kailangan namin gawin,” he added.
“Last conference wala naman kaming sisihin sa amin yon sa team talaga iyon nagkulang kami ngayon we have a chance na bumawi this conference.”
True enough, the entire team was noticeably looking fit and slim in their first game. There’s also an extra emphasis on their defense, evident when the Beermen limited Road Warrior star Robert Bolick to just 13 points on a poor 2-of-11 shooting from the field.
“Simula ng nagstart kami yun talaga yung finocus namin, sa defense. As you can see, mas aggressive kami sa depensa ngayon. Sometimes we are not making our shots pero bumabawi kami sa depensa and Bolick is their main guy so kailangan talaga namin pagtuunan ng pansin,” he added.
