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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Beermen’s bad habit
DESPITE opening their title-retention bid in the PBA Philippine Cup with a win, San Miguel Beemen star June Mar Fajardo believes they are still far from their fighting form.
In a post-match interview after their 104-96 victory over Phoenix Fuel Masters, the four-time PBA MVP said Beermen still has the bad habit of surrendering big leads.
“Tendency talaga namin na medyo mag-relax kapag nakalamang,” Fajardo said. “Isa sa mga bad habits namin iyon as a team kaya kailangan naming tanggalin iyon. Buti nanalo kami.”
During that match, Beermen was up by double figures several times but Fuel Masters managed to cut the deficit to single digits before the defending champion went on a finishing run to move up by as much as 19 points.
“Alam namin na hindi na magiging madali ang four-peat dahil pinaghahandaan na kami ng ibang teams,” Fajardo said. “Kaya hangga’t maaari dapat maresolba namin iyong mga mali namin.”
Beermen head coach Leo Austria agreed with Fajardo, saying they are not unbeatable anymore as other teams have retooled their rosters during the offseason for a chance to take the Philippine Cup crown from their head.
“Everybody prepares hard for us,” Austria said. “Four-peat is still a long shot. There are a lot of teams na maganda na ang lineup.”
“Ginebra can stop June Mar because they have twin towers. NLEX is out there to beat any team, alam ko na capable sila,” he added. “TNT came from offseason training abroad. I think they are determined to do well in this conference, so we have to prepare.”
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Phoenix Fuel Masters head coach Francisco Luis “Louie” Alas admitted that he was rattled in his return as a PBA mentor, the first since he handled the Talk ’N’ Text franchise 16 years ago.
“Next time, I’ll be sharper,” said Alas. “Kapag magkamali ka lalo na’t you’re trailing? Patay ka. Patay nga kami. If I did a good thing in rotation, baka iba iyong naging resulta ng laban.”
Since leaving Talk ’N’ Text in 2001, Alas spent a number of years with Letran Knights in NCAA, where he won multiple championships. He also served as assistant coach to Alex Compton in Alaska Aces.
Despite losing in his coaching return, Alas said he likes what he sees from his squad in terms of fighting spirit, especially when they nearly erased Beermen’s 19-point lead.
“I saw some positive things. Kasi, easily, pwede na kaming mag-give up eh. Iyong consistency lang. Kasi didikit kami, tapos ’pag nagpalit kami ng tao, magbabago iyong laro. We just have to find the right combinations,” Alas said.
“I believe I have enough pieces to compete with the mid-tier teams. Pero the Big Four? The consistent semifinalists? Siguro mga 10 points away pa kami diyan,” he said.
“Kahit hindi kami mag-semis agad eh, makuha lang namin iyong three to six spots (sa quarterfinals) para at least may chance kami na mag-best-of-three,” Alas said./PN
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