ALASKA’S Game 3 stalwart Sonny Thoss (right) rejects a driving Chris Ross of San Miguel Beer. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Leo Austria sounded very much a beaten man on Sunday night, minutes after his San Miguel Beermen blew a 21-point third-quarter lead to trail Alaska, 2-1, in their bruising best-of-seven title showdown for the PBA Philippine Cup.
He took full blame for the 78-70 Game 3 loss, but later on blasted some of his players— in the most diplomatic way possible—for not following his instructions and for veering away from the game plan.
“I have to congratulate Alaska for a job well done,” Austria told reporters in a very somber tone. “They (Aces) smelled blood, there was an opportunity. On our part, we panicked.”
The Aces outplayed the Beermen in the fourth period, where they limited their rival to a franchise-low six points after San Miguel had taken a 61-40 lead and remained on top at 64-46 entering the payoff quarter.
While Austria’s statements were expected, his claim that the plays he devised were ignored by his players was not.
“(We had a) lot of turnovers,” Austria said. “It was good defense by Alaska. We prepared hard and we know the situation. But I am not the one playing. All I can do is remind them.”
For a powerhouse team like San Miguel, those six points were simply unbelievable. Its only field goal came from an Alex Cabagnot jumper with 4:02 left, tying the score at 68.
In this highly physical series, it was the second time that Alaska came back from what seemed like insurmountable deficits.
In the opener last Wednesday, the Aces were held to just five points in the first period and trailed by 22, only to spew fire from the second quarter on and win, 88-82, in overtime.
Austria said he wanted the ball at the hands of team cornerstone June Mar Fajardo for most of the fourth period. “But it (ball) didn’t get there,” he said.
The San Miguel coach seems to have a point in saying that his team did not play that hard as Calvin Abueva, only 6-foot-1 but with the heart of a lion, outrebounded the entire San Miguel team in the fourth quarter, 10-8.
Game 4 is slated at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, with Austria expected to have ironed out everything with his players as early as yesterday.
Because there’s no doubt that the next game will be a do-or-die for them.