It was the San Miguel Beermen of old who played on Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in the PBA’s 43rd season opener, displaying its’ top-notch, championship-caliber composure as they romped Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Despite the convincing 104-96 victory, Beermen head coach Leo Austria is still not sold yet that he and his fabled wards have a strong case of winning the Philippine Cup for the fourth consecutive season, calling it a “long shot.”
“I’m happy for them [with the win], pinakita nila na they can defend the title. But, it’s a long shot,” said the decorated yet humble tactician..
“Maybe if we have [Christian] Standhardinger pwede yun. [But] right now, we have to rely on ourselves.”
This wariness coming from the three-time Coach of the Year may be hard to believe for some, knowing how strong his line-up is but Austria has some valid points.
“There are a lot of teams na maganda ang line-ups,” he said. “Ginebra can stop June Mar because they have twin towers. NLEX is out there to beat any team — alam ko na capable sila. TNT came from off-season training abroad.
“I think they are determined to do well in this conference.”
And for Fajardo, who has long been the linchpin of San Miguel’s offense under Austria, he too knows what his head coach is talking about, that gunning for a historic four-peat will always be something easier said than done.
“Walang madali,” said Fajardo, who finished with 23 points and 16 boards in the win. “Mahirap yun para sa amin kasi nga yung ibang team, pinaghahandaan kami. Yung ibang teams, lumalakas so hindi naming kailangan mag-relax.
“Kailangan pa naming magpraktis nang mas maayos at sundin yung sistema namin.”
