San Miguel Beermen head coach Leo Austria admitted it was his decision for his team to play with an all-Filipino line-up for Game 3 of the Beermen’s semifinals duel against Rain or Shine Thursday night.
Beermen import Tyler Wilkerson previously left the team immediately after their Game 2 loss last Tuesday, and did not practice with the team last Wednesday.
Still, the Beermen rallied to win, 104-98 to cut the Elasto Painters’ series lead down to just 2-1 and stay in the hunt for a finals spot.
Austria spoke to members of the press after the squad’s Game 3 win regarding the matter, saying his decision was mainly influenced by something Wilkerson did which was “not really good for the team.”
“Yesterday, during our practice, I announced it. Sinabi ko na guys, we will play without an import. This is my decision. You have to respect it and if something happens, this is my responsibility as a coach,” Austria said.
“I have to do something eh. Hindi na maganda ang nakikita ko sa team. They are not happy.”
Austria added Wilkerson had been doing things to him personally but the mentor opted to just ignore it as he wanted his troops to win.
“Kung ako, okay lang, tinitiis ko na ang ginagawa niya sa akin because I want to win. I want to sacrifice for the team. But last time, he did something not really good for the team. So I sacrificed a lot. At least, nasabi ko ang gusto ko mangyari,” Austria said.
“He wants to win, but yung talo namin last time, he was really frustrated. Medyo compounded na rin, maraming nangyari. What we need is respect to each and everyone. Players, the coaching staff, the management.”
Austria shared he knows Wilkerson is capable of doing damage, but it gets to a point where the rest of the team gets left out. The mentor said what the Beermen need is “someone who can lead us” and is “mature enough.”
“It’s obvious naman kaya ni Wilkerson. The only problem is, he is not involving his teammates. He wants to prove he is the best import and there is no doubt, but we need somebody who can lead us, be a leader, and mature enough,” he said.
Austria also praised his team for again showing character in a must-win situation.
“I have to praise my players, the entire team. In our practice yesterdsy, their body language was different. They want to win even though they know we don’t have an import (for Game 3). Wala akong masabi sa kanila,” he said.
“Thank (goodness) I proved something, because if not, baka matanggal na ako dito. It was my decision to not let our import play. We proved it and the players contributed a lot.”
Reid returns
Austria disclosed that former PBA Best Import winner Arizona Reid, who helped the Beermen win the 2015 Governors’ Cup title, will return as the team’s next import.
“It’s hard to play three straight games without an import. I assured them na next game, (sana) we have an import,” Austria said.
“He is the best available player right now. Kung kukuha kami ng iba na hindi namin kilala pa, there is a lot of adjustments regarding our plays. If nanalo kami ng all-Filipino, I think we have a good chance kung may import kami and that import is AZ na familiar sa ginagawa namin.”
Austria, who also shared Reid trained with San Miguel for a couple of times, hopes Reid makes it to Game 4 which is scheduled on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
“He is still in shape. I think he is very excited right now,” he said. “I promised the team if umabot ng Game 5, or maybe Game 4, we have a new import. Come Saturday hopefully makarating siya.”
