As expected, San Miguel Beer gave import Ronald Roberts his pink slip after the Beermen absorbed their fourth straight loss in as many games and sank deeper into the team standings of the Commissioner’s Cup.
Head coach Leo Austria told media on the heels of the Beermen’s fourth straight defeat that Arizona Reid will start practicing with the squad on Wednesday and play in the team’s next game against league-leading Meralco.
“Arizona Reid will play in our next game against Meralco. Bukas, magpa-practice na siya,” said Austria.
Roberts finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, but failed to carry the Beermen to the win column.
Reid arrived on Monday night. The former Rain or Shine import got his release from his previous squad, which decided to go in a different direction.
According to Austria, the plan was to have Reid reinforcing the Beermen in the third conference, but with the squad in desperate need of a win, San Miguel is forced to play him earlier than expected.
Reid’s scoring and aggressive plays will be needed more than ever, especially after Arwind Santos injured his knee, depriving him of playing more minutes in the Beermen’s latest loss to the Alaska Aces.
But San Miguel Beer might not be the only one set to make a change. Its Finals rival, Alaska, is also contemplating on looking for a replacement despite picking up its second win in four matches.
DJ Covington scored 20 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes of play, numbers which were enough to carry the Aces to victory.
But head coach Alex Compton said the team is still looking for a back up, not because he’s not satisfied with Covington, but in preparation for whatever uncontrollable things might happen.
“What if the import gets injured? The PBA imposes a fine for a team that doesn’t field in an import, so it’s only ideal to have a back up. But I do that all the time. We’re still on a lookout even if our import is good,” said Compton.
But Compton said getting Rob Dozier, the team’s preferred choice, will not happen this conference as he’s currently tied up with his team in Dubai.
“He signed a one-year contract and won’t be available. He’s not an option at this time,” added Compton.
