San Miguel Beer isn’t worried about having to win twice in its quarterfinal battle with Rain or Shine in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City on Friday.
Beermen head coach Leo Austria said that while this edition of the midseason conference has featured tough competition, they remain determined to pull off an upset and advance to the semifinals.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in the Top 6, 7, or 8. All you have to do is win. Even if you’re in the Top 4, you still have to win the first game,” said Austria, whose boys are facing a twice-to-win disadvantage against the third-seed Elasto Painters.
“We’ve had a lot of come-from-behind wins, but in this tournament, that’s a scary situation because every team has improved a lot.”
The Beermen blew hot and cold early on. They opened their campaign with former Melbourne United center Marcus Lee as import before bringing in former National Basketball Association campaigner Justin Patton.
But Patton had a controversial exit as he refused to show up in their game against Magnolia, prompting the Beermen to play with an all-local crew that led to a 101-120 setback last month.
Finally, former import Bennie Boatwright came to the rescue, helping San Miguel regain its groove that led to a three-game winning streak to end the eliminations.
Still, despite facing the Elasto Painters, Austria isn’t worried as they will parade a loaded and seasoned roster bannered by Boatwright, nine-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, Jericho Cruz and Chris Ross.
Austria, an 11-time PBA champion coach, said they cannot afford to become complacent as teams will do everything they can just to reach the finals.
“For me, every game is important. We have to respect every game because that’s how the team develops good habits,” Austria said. IVAN SUING