After the final buzzer of the San Miguel-Alaska game sounded Wednesday night, the score read: 116-96, with the Beermen winning via blowout.
Not many expected such result, given the absence of June Mar Fajardo for the night and a few more minor injuries for the Beermen. Among those on that side of the spectrum was Beermen head coach Leo Austria himself.
“We were not expecting that we are going to play well like this. I am a little bit worried at the start of the game (because) we are plagued with a lot of injuries,” Austria said.
“I was worried about the lack of point guards. No back-up kami eh pero I am happy they stepped up a lot. At the start of the game, Chris Ross told me ‘Coach, it’s okay to play me 48 minutes.'”
Aside from Fajardo, Brian Heruela, Ronald Tubid, and Ryan Arana were all sidelined, but the Beermen once again showcased depth and drew significant contributions from a handful of key guys.
Photo courtesy of PBA Images
Tyler Wilkerson led the charge with 32 points and 14 rebounds; Alex Cabagnot had 22 points and six assists, while Chris Ross finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and 12 assists.
San Miguel shot a staggering 17-for-37 from three-point area and dished out 28 assists for the game.
Austria lauded his troops for having stepped up once again while other players were out.
“This is the first time we beat them in the elimination. I am surprised tonight dahil medyo lumamang kami ng malaki. But maybe because yung players, from start to finish, relentless sila defensively and offensively. I think that is familiarization,” Austria shared.
“I am surprised din umulan kanina ng three-points eh. I think with that kind of shooting, mahirap talaga bantayan sila.”
Prior to the game, Austria even noticed different body language among his players, which made it all the more surprising that San Miguel had come out with such tenacity.
“But before this game bothered ako dahil relaxed na relaxed sila. Buti ginagawa nila nagpe-pacing sila. Alaska is hard to beat because of their pressing defense and (teams) are afraid of them. Ang napansin ko sa kanila, wala silang kapressure-pressure, relaxed sila just like in the championship game na akala mo hindi pang-finals yung body language nila,” Austria admitted.
“In the last three practices namin, medyo nagsave sila ng energy. Medyo petiks-petiks lang sila. But alam ko ginagawa (nila), nagpe-preserve sila ng energy dahil lalo na kanina, halos wala silang labasan.”
Moving forward, Austria says the huge win is a good gauge to see how the Beermen can fair against other teams even when they are not at full-strength.
“They beat all the strong teams. Now we beat them, so meron kang marerealize na if Alaska beat those teams and we beat them without June Mar, baka tumaas yung kumpiyansa namin. Sinusukat namin eh. Tonight na-prove nila kaya nila and I am happy to see the team perform without June Mar.”
