As 43rd PBA season opens, SMB begins Phl Cup title retention bid
Despite their winning tradition, San Miguel Beer still believes that pressure hovers over them.
And why not? They have the PBA’s top cager in their fold. Oh, they have the league’s top defender, too. And if those aren’t compelling enough reasons for them to be to have a big target on their back, they have also won the last three Philippine Cup crowns.
San Miguel takes centerstage on the 43rd season’s opening night when they take on Phoenix Fuelmasters. The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. tonight, following the usual elaborate opening ceremonies.
“Dahil sa mga binabalita na we’re gunning for a fourth all-Filipino championship … we have to live up to the expectation for us to improve,” said head coach Leo Austria.
“The pressure is always there,” the three-time Coach of the Year said. But he noted that the team is aware that the competition is catching up.
"Kailangan pagtrabahuan [namin] because this season is a different season. And every team, kahit paano, nag-improve sila,” Austria offered. “Ang problema lang talaga ng ilang kalaban, ay kung sino ang ima-match up nila kay June Mar (Fajardo). And I’m sure by this time, alam na nila kung ano ang formula to limit him.
That couldn’t be truer for the Beermen’s case during the season-ending Governors’ Cup. San Miguel’s bid to win a rare Grand Slam was foiled sister team Barangay Ginebra.
But the Beermen is clearly more than the fourtime Most Valuable Player. With basically the same cast, San Miguel can always rely on its usual go-to combination of punches composed of the defensive mettle of Chris Ross, the sweet-shooting of Marcio Lassiter, the playmaking of Alex Cabagnot and the captainship of Arwind Santos.
And have we mentioned their deep bench? There’s former Gilas trooper Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, cadet Von Pessumal, the sturdy Brian Heruela.
But one of the primary reasons why the Beermen got virtually all the teams hunting them is because they snared Filipino-German and national team member Christian Standhardinger, who is set to soup-up their roster in the second conference.
“I'm so excited with him,” Austria said of Standhardinger. “Pero hanggang doon lang. 'Di namin dapat isipin na sana nasa amin siya. We’ll keep on relying on ourselves and the team.”
Although the five-time champion mentor also believes that the advent of the 6-foot-8 big man could spell more than a boost in firepower — which they will definitely need in the long haul.