San Miguel, NLEX fight for share of lead
MOST may have been left in awe by Henry Walker’s 44-point explosion for NLEX in his first game back last Friday.
Not San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria, who on Thursday said he noted some things about Walker’s game that he could put into good use in his Beermen’s collision with the Road Warriors Friday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Both SMB and NLEX are eyeing a second straight win that would move each alongside idle leaders Meralco and Mahindra.
But first, expect tough, tenacious defense to be employed by both squads, with each of the protagonists’ chief tactician having devised ploys to offset the other’s high-scoring import.
Austria was ready to lay down his basic ploy against Walker, the former NBA campaigner and Alaska reinforcement two years back.
“Napansin ko lang na he mostly plays in the perimeter and almost half of his shots were taken from the three-point area,” said Austria of Walker, who made 15 of his 25 field goal attempts, including 6-of-13 from deep, in NLEX’s 96-90 win over Blackwater.
“Siguro if our guards can keep up with him then maybe we could limit him,” added Austria. “For sure we cannot allow Walker to score 44 points again. If we do that then our window of opportunity to win the game would be smaller.”
The Beermen’s offense is sure to be led anew by import Arizona Reid, who dropped 41 points in a 124-113 shootout win over Phoenix last Sunday, and NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez has his own plans.
“With Reid there it’s a tough game,” said Fernandez. “We just have to play solid team defense against SMB if we want to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
One welcome news for SMB is the fact backup center Yancy de Ocampo has been deemed fit enough to see action, although former MVP Arwind Santos, Gabby Espinas and Chris Lutz would continue to be out due to injuries.
With De Ocampo there, the Beermen would have another big man to cover the slot aside from June Mar Fajardo and JayR Reyes while battling the likes of Asi taulava, Rico Villanueva and Rob Reyes and making it tougher for Walker to try and penetrate.
That doesn’t mean Austria has forgotten about NLEX’s smaller players, however.
“(Kevin) Alas, (Jonas) Villanueva and (Mac) Baracael each scored in double figures in their first game,” Austria pointed out. “If we cannot contain Walker, we must at least hold down the production of their other scorers.”
Despite the injury-related absences in the SMB camp Fernandez still considers the Beermen to be one potent unit. “San Miguel Beer is still a very strong team offensively, scoring 124 points last game even without Arwind,” he said.
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