If you ask anyone to put a finger on it, you probably would end up with more quizzical looks than answers.
It’s difficult to dissect why recently crowned Philippine Cup champion San Miguel has lost two in a row to the two expansion teams who really couldn’t get going in their initial season in the PBA. Of late, the Beermen have fallen to Kia and Blackwater Elite, two teams that are just beginning to understand what it takes to win in the pros.
You could blame it on “championship hangover,” a phrase that has circulated in print and online as the reason why the Beermen are struggling to get back into sharp, winning form. You could say that they gave so much in the previous conference that they’re still reeling from the rigors of the seven-game series against Alaska, which they barely survived given the Aces’ tenacious no-surrender view of the world.
You could conclude that the two expansion teams “wanted it more” and caught the Beermen at their worst. There may also be a need for a longer acquaintance party for the locals to get used to their import, something the other teams may have had a luxury to when they were booted out earlier from the previous tournament.
Still yet, you could say it’s the present day dilemma of teams playing in the Gilas Pilipinas era when the pro schedule has been compressed to allow the national team time to prepare and compete in international competitions. There isn’t much recovery time between conferences now, unlike in previous years when there was about a month and a half before the start of the next tournament.
There’s now a pile of excuses for the Beermen and their fans to accept or reject. But these are the realities for all the teams. It’s just like when a team behind by 20 points at halftime complains about a slippery floor and ball in an out of town game against a team that’s playing on the same floor and using the same ball.
The real challenge in the days ahead for coach Leo Austria and his crew will be to turn things around. The test will not be an Xs and Os type but a motivational one, an appeal to the pride of the players to not accept the excuses outline above.
This is where the great teams are separated from the also-rans, the conference champions from the multi-conference winners and the Grand Slam titlists. The truly outstanding squads will buck the injuries, the opponents and the context of the field of battle to rise above the ordinary.
The tournament is still in its early stages and so much more can happen in the days ahead. Early leader Meralco has its best start in years but needs the grittiness and resolve of a champion team down the road. The expansion teams have tasted victory but the acute ability of PBA coaches to scout and prepare strategies will show that the rest of the field will now be ready for them. None of them want to be the next victim of Kia or Blackwater that has already tasted victory and will definitely look for more.
It’s up to the Beermen to respond. Or you could simply accept it’s hard to explain why these things happen to these teams.
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