HOPING TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS
Coach Leo Austria is no stranger to coaching in the PBA.
Anchoring Shell and Welcoat before, his past experiences have helped him adapt quite quickly to his new job at San Miguel Beer.
However, he said that there are tons of difference with his current position to those of the past.
“Before, galing sa ibaba yung mga hinawakan ko eh, from the cellar. Ngayon, mataas ang expectations. But this team is not a powerhouse,” Austria said before their season opener.
And he hopes that the Beermen’s 87-79 win over Rain or Shine on Tuesday will be the start of the climb back to the top for the league’s winningest franchise.
“I think this will be a great motivation for me and the team because we beat a big team, a contender,” Austria said.
“Everybody’s trying to do well in this conference especially the veterans because we’ve been criticized in the previous years. They’re expecting a lot from our team at di nangyayari yung expectations nila. So I hope this will be a good start for us.”
Austria said that he has completely dispatched of the team’s old system, saying, “Ibang iba ito. It’s my own system. Yung dati naming sistema, inalis namin kasi hindi nagwowork.”
And so far, so good.
“I’m happy to have this team for two months. We had a lot of obstacles going into our first game. Nakumpleto lang kami last Saturday, and nag-iba yung atmosphere kasi nakumpleto yung players. I hope na yung ginagawa namin, magdire-diretso,” he said. (RL)
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