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Leo Austria feels that the other 11 PBA teams now see San Miguel as easy prey, as the team does not have June Mar Fajardo in their bid to extend their dominance of the Philippine Cup to six this season.
The reigning six-time MVP, the man responsible for the Beermen’s unprecedented dynasty in the all-Filipino tilt, did not join his team in the bubble as he continues to recover from a leg injury.
“I think all teams, yun ang feel nila, na is easy to beat San Miguel because we don’t have June Mar Fajardo.” said the four-time Coach of the Year.
“Dahil alam nila with June Mar, he is always the problem.”
The Beermen opened their title defense Tuesday night against Rain or Shine. And there. Austria and their pupils witnessed the extra confidence that rival teams now have to face them.
A team that has the right combination of experience and youth that could surely help in the bubble, the Elasto Painters started the game with a fiery 16-0 blitz, which is their best start in franchise history.
But being the champions that they are, San Miguel got back into the game and eventually came close to one point, 81-82, following a 3-pointer by Terrence Romeo with 27.3 seconds left in the game.
That, until Rey Nambatac hit the night’s biggest shot when he sank a triple in a fight to extend Rain or Shine’s lead to four, 85-81, with 12 seconds to go, the shot that practically hit the nail on the head. the coffin.
San Miguel lost, 83-87, failed to follow its opening day victory on March 8 against Magnolia and missed the opportunity to take the early lead in the only conference of the season.
“You can see it last night naman with how they played uh, very aggressive talagang sila. And they were confident “ said Rain or Shine’s Austria, who was led by sophomore Javee Mocon with 25 points.
Mocón himself seems to have an added motivation when facing San Miguel. According to the league’s chief statistician, Fidel Mangonon III, two of his highest-scoring games in the PBA have been against the Beermen.
The Elasto Painters’ sixth overall pick in 2018 had their third career-best record of 20 in an 89-87 loss to the mighty team in Cagayan de Oro City in their knockout round meeting at the Commissioner’s Cup. last season.
Now, the Beermen are emerging from defeat as their sights are now set on Friday’s game against rivals TNT Tropang GIGA, who have gone 2-0 following a dominant 112-101 win over Terra Firma on Tuesday.
“We cannot promise anything other than the next game, we will do our best.”
