BY JONAS TERRADO
HISTORY could repeat itself for the Grand Slam-seeking San Miguel Beermen as they’ll have to hurdle the dreadful spot of being in a twice-to-beat disadvantage against Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
The Beermen suffered the consequence of an internal squabble that rocked the team over the weekend by finishing fifth in the eliminations following a loss to TNT KaTropa on Wednesday.
By going 2-5 after a 4-0 start along with the indefinite suspensions of Arwind Santos, Kelly Nabong and Ronald Tubid and the departure of import Dez Wells for their roles in a fight that marred Sunday’s practice, SMB is now on downward spiral.
“Dito mate-test yung character namin,” said June Mar Fajardo as the Beermen prepare for the clash with Ginebra on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The bitter memories of a failed Grand Slam bid from recent memory still fresh for many.
SMB won the first two conferences of 2017, only to encounter import problems in the Governors’ Cup to finish sixth in the eliminations.
It didn’t take long before Ginebra put San Miguel’s Grand Slam ambitions to dust with a convincing win in the quarters.
Two years later, the Beermen are in a similar predicament. The only question now is the ending.
“It’s a harder road now, but we still have enough talent to do it so I’m still confident in us,” said import John Holland, who was initially tapped to fill-in for Wells who was dealing with an ankle injury.
But with Wells gone, Holland acknowledged that he has a bigger responsibility now, though is far from worried that the losses of the three players may hurt their chances of survival.
“I still think that no matter what team we play, we have a good chance. Now it’s just a little harder, we just need to win two games. It’s alright,” added Holland.
NO ONE’S ABOVE THE POLICY
Meantime, coach Leo Austria said management’s decision to suspend the three should serve as a strong reminder that no one is above the company’s policy.
“We have to accept the reality because we cannot tolerate the incident that happened to us,” Austria told reporters after the game. “And although it’s internal, that’s what the organization stands for. Talagang we have to do something that could give us some reminder, strong signal that nobody’s above the policy of the company.”
SMB almost stole the twice-to-beat from TNT when it rallied from 18 points down to take a 108-107 lead in the final minute on import John Holland’s three.
But TNT reinforcement KJ McDaniels answered with a three before SMB blew a chance to reclaim the lead seconds later after a missed one-hander by June Mar Fajardo.