Mac Belo played his worst game as a pro against the San Miguel Beermen
The much-hyped match-up between former King Tamaraws Arwind Santos and Mac Belo turned out to be a one-sided affair, as the reigning Philippine Cup champions flooded Belo with numerous defenders every time he was on the floor.
Averaging 17.0 points on on 48.1 percent shooting to go along and committing just 1.3 turnovers per game, the rookie shot just 1-of-4 from the field for four points and was forced to commit four turnovers in the game. Defenders like Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, Ronald Tubid, and even Santos himself tortured Belo in his 22 minutes of game time.
To make matters worse, the Blackwater Elite suffered their worst loss of the season, 118-93, for their second straight setback and their fourth overall.
For Belo, this game showed how far they are from being considered an elite team in the league.
“Isa lang ibig sabihin nun. Kailangan pa namin mag-improve as a team and individually,” the North Cotabato-native said.
“Siyempre mahirap din sa part ko na binibigyan ako ng iba’t-ibang defense. So para sa sarili ko, marami pa ‘kong kailangan i-improve. Marami akong natutunan sa game na ‘to.”
Belo had his moments in the game, including a swat of Santos’ layup attempt midway through the third frame. The former UAAP Finals MVP, though, downplayed the match-up between him and Belo, saying that everyone needs to move on from what they have given their alma mater.
“Tapos na yung FEU days namin. Nabigiyan naman namin ng championship ang FEU Tamaraws so iba naman dito sa PBA,” Belo remarked about Santos.
With the conference down to its last three games, Belo is hoping to absorb everything he has learned from this game as they try to give the franchise its first playoff berth.
“Well sa team ng San Miguel, sobrang matured na sila lahat talaga. Alam naman natin na champion team talaga sila,” he said.
“So, marami akong natutunan — hindi sila nagmamadali, kung kailan sila aatake, may pinupuntahan pa sila sa post.”
Finding positives in this crushing loss only tells one thing about Belo: he is still a student of the game.
