SMBeermen all praises on Star import Ratliffe
RICARDO RATLIFFE has gone from making a good impression to becoming the strong candidate for the Best Import award.
His presence had definitely caught the fancy of his rivals from San Miguel Beer.
“With Ricardo, Star has a new element. He nearly had 40 rebounds today (Monday). He plugs the middle for them and he makes them a complete team,” San Miguel Beer guard Chris Ross told BusinessWorld.
Mr. Ratliffe, the front runner for the Best Import award, had another solid game, finishing with 25 points and 35 rebounds.
The number of rebounds was the most since Jarrid Famous pulled down 37 two years ago.
To the eyes of Beermen head coach Leo Austria, Mr. Ratliffe is playing like the Best Import even though he’s impressed with his own reinforcement Charles Rhodes.
“After the first half, we knew he already had 22 rebounds,” added Mr. Austria. “Next time, we should limit his rebounding as well as his scoring. For me, he’s the best import right now. Maybe Charles can argue with that. It’s up to him to respond.”
Because of Mr. Ratliffe, San Miguel team captain Arwind Santos sees Star a much better team from the one they defeated last season.
In last season’s quarterfinals match, San Miguel, facing Star with Mr. Ratliffe in tow, beat its sister team to advance to the semifinals. This time, the Hotshots were able to get the early upper hand and they were about to push the reigning three-time Philippine Cup champion Beermen on the ropes in Game 2 before the more experienced squad was able to escape with a 77-76 win.
“Behind Ratliffe, Star is one team you cannot take for granted. Once you establish a big lead, you know they will keep on coming. You cannot blink,” added Mr. Santos. —