San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said he played June Mar Fajardo a bit more than originally planned against NLEX Tuesday night to help the big man regain his rhythm.
Fajardo scored 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds in over 41 minutes of play, helping the Beermen beat the Road Warriors in a triple-overtime affair, 131-127.
“Noticeable pa yung laro ni June Mar na wala pa siya sa usual laro niya. For me ang nilalaro niya mga 70 percent but I had to use him because that is the only way makakabalik siya sa usual form niya eh,” Austria said.
“Mabuti na lang kahit papano nasa rhythm na sila ngayon unlike sa last na kitang kita mo eh.”
Austria felt glad that the Beermen only had a light practice session prior to the NLEX match, as pushing too much in practice would have affected their performance given the game lasted three extensions.
Photo courtesy of PBA Images
“We did not have a long practice, we just had stretching, papawis ng konti, walk-throughs, shooting, then tapos na. Mabuti hindi kami nag-push kahapon dahil alam namin well-prepared ang NLEX dahil mahaba ang kanilang rest. Alam naming pwede dumating sa ganoong pangyayari,” Austria shared.
The mentor also praised his troops for going all-out in the grueling battle, knowing that they have to improve their position in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup team standings.
“Alam namin ang importance ng game na ito. Yung NLEX, they have a chance to get to the three-to-six positions. Kami, we cannot be stucked sa middle. Rain or Shine beat us. Ginebra beat us. That’s why important ito because we don’t want to be number seven or number eight,” he said.
“Alam ko yun ang worst scenario. Alam ng mga players yun. Pagod na pagod sila pero they did not give up dahil alam nila yun.”
The win pushed San Miguel to a share of second spot with the Alaska Aces with both teams having 6-3 records.
