When the San Miguel Beermen broke through the win column for the first time in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup last May 30, after a 0-3 start, Renaldo Balkman was optimistic that his team would still make it to the playoffs.
“We’re trying to win the most games that we can right to be on top of the playoffs,” Balkman said after that 106-94 victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, where he had 35 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
“But we got to take it one game at a time. We can’t go out and win four games in one day, so one game at a time then we’ll be back on top,” added the Puerto Rican national, who has come back to the PBA after five years.
Over a month since their first win of the conference, Balkman and SMB are marching on to the next round.
Thanks to a well-deployed attack that saw seven players score in double figures, the Beermen have formalized their entry into the quarterfinals by toppling the also-ran Blackwater Elite, 115-106, Wednesday evening.
“Yeah, we got to take it one game at a time like what I’m always saying,” shared Balkman, who finished tonight’s game with 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Currently, San Miguel are fifth in the team standings with a 6-4 card. The best quarters scenario for them is an assured best-of-three series, and the worst one would be a twice-to-beat disadvantage.
Thus, Balkman and the defending conference champions are locking their sights on Saturday’s match with long-time rivals Magnolia Hotshots at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, for a better spot in the next round.
“We got one more game to play against Magnolia on Saturday,” he stressed.
“We got to get one on Saturday.”
