SHARE OF LEAD ON BEERMEN’S CROSSHAIRS
SAN Miguel Beer is admittedly still far from the shape coach Leo Austria wants, yet the Beermen have so far proved to be more than a handful for the competition.
Whether SMB can continue to impress and realize a lofty goal would be known Sunday when it collides with Barako Bull in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Energy, who have lost their opening assignments to Meralco and GlobalPort, are looking to crash the win-column and give Koy Banal a first victory as head coach.
Odds of that happening seem little.
The Beermen have been irrepressible so far, racking up victories against Rain or Shine and Purefoods Star and another win Sunday would move them alongside idle Alaska at the top of the 12-team, 11-game eliminations.
Austria maintains things won’t be as easy despite the teams’ current standings suggest.
“Mahirap i-take for granted ang Barako,” said Austria. “Kumpleto sila in every position and if you let your guard down sa kanila, malamang sa hindi masilat ka.”
Austria’s worries would be less had his charges not been racked by injuries and absences that dotted the team’s practices since he officially took over in early August.
“Na-set back talaga ang mga plano and shcedules ko ng mga three weeks,” said Austria.
That was evident in the SMB’s first two games. Despite the Beermen taking control and erecting huge leads, their opponents managed to come back and make a game of it in the end and it took some sterling individual efforts in the stretch before they could turn back their foes.
“Okay iyon, but we still need to have everything done within the system,” insisted Austria.
“With the team now complete and everybody buying into the system we have put in place, sana hindi na hirap. We certainly need iyung improvement na gusto namin, especially against a team like Barako.”
The Energy sure look like they are on the verge of snapping out of their funk.
In Barako’s opening game against Meralco, the Bolts needed two overtimes before they could come out a 112-108 winner. In an 81-91 loss to the Batang Pier, the Energy came charging back from a 12-point deficit before fading in the endgame.
Primary importance for Barako is stifling reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo, who is so far averaging 19.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. (NC)
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