ANTIPOLO — Peter Martin did not bat an eye when asked if it’s safe to say that San Miguel has found the perfect import in George King after stretching their unbeaten streak to three in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday.
“Oh, very safe,” offered the lead assistant coach after their 128-122 victory over the erstwhile unbeaten Converge at the Ynares Center here.
“Very, very safe.”
The former player-turned-coach is growing confident that the Beermen have finally solved what had been one of their biggest problems in previous conferences.
Just in the last Commissioner’s Cup alone, the traditional powerhouse brought in a total of three reinforcements, ultimately ending up with Bennie Boatwright after experiments with Marcus Lee and Justin Patton did not pan out.
Lee, in fact, wasn’t even the team’s original choice for the midseason joust, but rather a “last-minute” replacement, as bared by head coach Leo Austria, when first choices Tony Criswell and Darius McGhee became unavailable.
(C) PBA Images
That trouble sure proved costly for SMB as it bombed out of the quarterfinals to the twice-to-beat Rain or Shine, sending them to an early vacation.
Fast forward to now, and the reigning two-time Philippine Cup champions are off to a hot start in the Governors’ Cup, so much so that they have dislodged Converge from the top of the Group B standings to join NLEX with identical 3-0 records.
The former NBA veteran has been a major force behind that strong start, as evidenced by his impressive per-game averages of 36.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, while also making an impact defensively with 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
But more than the numbers, it’s his assertiveness—whether on the court or even on the sidelines—that has been earning praise from the coaching staff.
“Alam mo, kung tinitingnan niyo ‘yung ano, minsan kukunin niya ‘yung board, siya magaano ng play para sa amin,” shared Martin, who’s been filling in for Austria while the champion bench tactician deals with a health issue.
“It makes our job really much easier. And then he talks to the players. At the start, he won’t be so aggressive, the first game puro pasa nga siya e. Sabi ko nga sa kanya, it’s up to him.”
Still, they’ve only played three games together thus far, and Martin likes the potential he sees from King and the Beermen as the tourney goes.
“He knows how to play with these guys; he knows how to motivate. So konti pa siguro. Konting familiarity pa, magiging OK—depensa na lang siguro, mag-a-adjust kami ng konti pa,” said the 57-year-old.
