San Miguel Beermen begins its campaign for the sixth consecutive All–Filipino title when it faces its sister team Magnolia Hotshots in the start of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.
Unlike the previous years, the Beermen’s title retention bid now will be much tougher without star center June Mar Fajardo. He is set to miss the entire conference due to a knee injury he suffered during the offseason.
The Beermen have struggled in their matches sans Fajardo during the offseason, but head coach Leovino Austria is still confident that his wards can get their groove midway in the conference.
“It’s really hard for us because in the past five years, alam naman natin na cornerstone si June Mar. He helped us a lot in winning championships. Pero gaya ng sinabi ko sa team, San Miguel is not June Mar and everybody must step up,” Austria said.
“The only good thing is our preseason losses are not counted on the actual games,” he added. “We definitely learned a lot from this (tournament) and we know where we are right now going to the all-Filipino.”
Still with the Beermen are Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter, Terrence Romeo, Moala Tautuaa, Arwind Santos, Billy Mamaril, Paul Zamar and Matthew Ganuelas-Rosser.
The newcomers in the team roster are Russel Escoto, free agent signees Angelo Alolino and Riego Gamalinda, along with rookies Wendelino Comboy and Daniel de Guzman.
Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero, for his part, believes that his team has the tools to contend for the crown once again after being denied by the Beermen in the last two Philippine Cup championships.
“This is our third try. In 2018, na-dominate kami ng San Miguel (4-1), 2019, almost. So right now, ito ‘yung ginagawa naming motivation sa paghahanda namin sa All-Filipino,” said Victolero.
“Hindi mabubura sa isip namin iyun. Talagang masyadong natandaan naming – one possession, one stop, one offensive play (away from winning the 2019 crown), so, ito ‘yung isa sa motivation namin,” he added, referring to their 72-71 Game 7 loss to the Beermen.
Returning for the Hotshots are Paul Lee, Andy Mark Barroca, Justin Melton, Jiovani Jalalon, Peter June Simon, Ian Sangalang, Michael Calisaan, Jean Marc Pingris, Rome dela Rosa, Chris Banchero, Mon Abundo, Kyle Pascual and Rafael Reavis.
The only newcomer so far for Magnolia is Jackson Corpuz via an offseason trade from the Columbian Dyip, while rookie Aris Dionisio is expected to suit up for the team after his stint with the Manila Stars of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League./PN
