San Miguel will not have to endure a long, heavy flight to Dubai after finally barging into the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup win column, Sunday.
Worried that their upcoming trip to the Emirati city would sort of become a period of deep reflection, the Beermen finally heaved a big sigh of relief following their convincing victory over Rain or Shine in Montalban.
“With this win, it should be a morale booster for us because at 0-2 we cannot afford to lose again; at 0-3 it will be a disaster going to Dubai,” he offered moments after their 111-93 victory at the Ynares Center II.
“But with this win, I think it will give us a lot of confidence. May baon kami papuntang Dubai.”
Austria himself didn’t hide that it would be difficult for him and his coaching staff to keep the team in the proper headspace had they bowed to the Elasto Painters, who had just played their second game of the season.
Because if they did, the defending conference champions would fall to a precarious 0-3 hole — and, worse, remain as the only winless team in the meet.
The result reassured him, especially seeing SMB show the kind of pride the team as a whole possesses as a powerhouse.
(C) PBA Images
“If you lose, it’s hard to motivate the players. But the pride of the players, champion team ano, is still there. Nakita natin eh,” said Austria, whose wards led by as many as 25 in the win.
“Kaya, this win is very important for us.”
Soon, they can all focus on the trip ahead en route to Dubai, where they will be headlining the league’s return to the sprawling city after six years.
And instead of pondering about losses, their attention can be poured into preparing for Barangay Ginebra, whom they will face next Sunday, October 26, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Al Nasr, set for a 10:00 PM (Manila time) tip-off.
Both the Beermen and the Kings were among the three ball clubs that played in Dubai during the 2019 Governors’ Cup, the other being NLEX. However, the SMC-owned sides did not play against one another back then.
Now it’s just the two flying out to the ‘City of Gold,’ with Austria bracing for a slugfest ahead as SMB will be taking on a team that’s coming off an 89-75 defeat at the hands of Meralco just last Friday — its second in three outings.
“We have to prepare hard because Ginebra lost in their last game,” he said.
“But they played really well against TNT and that’s the kind of game they want to have, and we have to play harder in order for us to win against Ginebra.”
The multiple-time Coach of the Year is anticipating, too, that San Miguel will be playing before a pro-Ginebra crowd, which adds more to the challenge.
“We know that a lot of Filipino fans are out there, I don’t know kung magfifty-fifty ito–I hope na mag-fifty-fifty ito, but knowing Ginebra, it’s always ano eh. But it could motivate us to play harder,” Austria said.
