Beermen out to stretch lead as they battle tough E-painters
For its chemistry and fluidity, coach Leo Austria considers Rain or Shine among the toughest hurdles in San Miguel Beer’s title-retention quest in the 2015-16 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup.
The Beermen find out what the Elasto Painters can exactly offer as they square off at the resumption of the all-Filipino tourney from the All Saints Day break Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
They battle at 7 p.m. in an elite matchup pitting the defending champs versus the only team that made the quarterfinals of each tourney last season.
“Everyone is saying we’re the team to beat because we ruled two conferences last year. I can’t dispute that. Then the way I see it, tingin ko talaga Rain or Shine at Alaska ang toughest challengers namin,” said Austria.
“Kasunod nila ang Talk n Text at Ginebra, na pareho pang nasa adjustment period. Talk n Text with their new player recruits and Ginebra with coach Tim Cone and his system,” Austria also said.
“Ang Rain or Shine, kitang-kita ang kanilang fluidity in their first two games. Lahat nahihirapan sa Mahindra. Ang Rain or Shine easy-easy lang nilang tinalo ang Mahindra,” Austria added.
San Miguel trampled Globalport, 97-86, then walloped Meralco, 101-85, while Rain or Shine pulled off a come-from-behind 96-87 win over Star then romped past Mahindra, 108-84.
Austria noted Rain or Shine’s improvement with its acquisition of Jewel Ponferada, Maverick Ahanmisi and Don Trollano.
“Nag-improve ang ceiling nila at lumalim din ang backcourt at wing rotations nila,” Austria said.
But even with their improvement, ROS coach Yeng Guiao feels San Miguel still has so much advantage in roster power.
“We’re still in a quandary on how to approach our game versus San Miguel,” said Guiao.
“We can’t make up our mind on whether we try to take away their inside game anchored on Junmar (Fajardo) or try to extend out on their shooters,” Guiao explained. “We know we can’t do both. No team has found the formula yet. We will just toss the coin and see if we win the gamble.”
Rain or Shine emerged the team with best cumulative win-loss record last season, even better than the two-conference champ SMB team.
But the E-Painters fared miserably in head-on duels with the Beermen.
San Miguel has actually dropped only one game in their last nine battles with ROS dating back to 2014.
Last season, the E-Painters pulled one win in Game Two of the Governors Cup semifinals. Then the Beermen struck back in the next two games to advance to the finals versus the Alaska Aces.
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