San Miguel Beer refused to issue a statement following their nightmarish 97-115 loss to TNT Tropang Giga that put them on the verge of elimination in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup last Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Beermen coach Leo Austria refused to issue a statement when DAILY TRIBUNE sought his comment on Monday morning, a day after suffering the setback that pushed them to their seventh loss in 12 matches.
With that, the Beermen have to pray that NLEX and Magnolia drop their remaining games against Hong Kong Eastern on Wednesday and Meralco on Friday, respectively, to catch the last bus headed for the quarterfinals.
After all, both the Road Warriors and the Hotshots sit at the eighth spot with identical 5-6 win-loss records.
A loss by both teams will give the Beermen a chance to contend for the No. 8 spot against the Road Warriors.
The Beermen’s campaign in the midseason tournament had been very shaky.
For one, they appeared to settle for a steady reinforcement after starting with veteran Quincy Miller before hiring Torren Jones, Jabari Narcis and Malik Pope.
Prior to the start of the season, they figured in a blockbuster trade, sending veterans Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel to Terrafirma in exchange for Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig.