No need to panic yet says San Miguel head coach Leo Austria. PBA Images/Nuk Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer slumped to a 0-2 start in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup just over two weeks after being crowned Philippine Cup champion.
The Beermen opened up the new conference with a a pair of double-digit setbacks to Barangay Ginebra last Sunday and to Kia last Feb. 4.
But San Miguel head coach Leo Austria doesn’t see the point of panicking just yet even though his team sits at the bottom of the standings along with fellow winless teams NLEX and Blackwater.
“No need to push the panic button yet. What’s important is we need to win our first game,” said Austria following a 95-82 loss to the Kings, who came into the game having dropped their first two matches.
The Beermen have shot poorly in their first two games —just 37% from the field on both occasions.
“That’s not our usual game,” said Austria. “Before, from start to finish, our execution is fluid but now, everybody’s trying to adjust with the atmosphere of being a champion and of having an import.”
“It’s too short of a time to celebrate, but I hope in the next few days, they can move on from the championship,” Austria added. “And I think with these last two losses, things will be different.”
Speaking of import, SMB reinforcement Ronald Roberts Jr. have shown dramatic improvement in his second PBA stint after his poor debut performance in the 88-78 loss to Kia.
The athletic Roberts had 32 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, four of which came against Ginebra import Michael Dunigan, against Ginebra.
“With how our import played tonight (Sunday night), there are positives,” Austria said. “You can see that he’s working hard on both sides of the court and that’s something that we need to capitalize. Our import is slowly adjusting to the brand of the game we have.”
The Beermen are in a prime spot to finally get into the win column on Wednesday against the Elite, who are 0-3 this conference and losers of 14 consecutive games dating back to last conference.