Arizona Reid. PBA IMAGES
San Miguel Beer has been unstoppable so far as it continues to roll through the elimination round with an eight game winning streak with only a game left before the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs begin next week.
The Beermen, at 8-2, are the No.1 team in the league right now and they have been playing their best basketball since they won the Philippine Cup.
READ: San Miguel picks up 8th straight win behind Reid’s triple-double
But they feel that their best can still be better.
“You wanna improve everything. You can never be satisfied. When you’re satisfied, you get comfortable and when you’re comfortable, you lose,” two-time Best Import Arizona Reid stressed after posting a triple-double with 39 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a 115-83 win over Blackwater on Tuesday.
READ: Reid unleashes 29 as Beermen roll to 7th straight win
“So we’re not satisfied with nothing. Our defense could be better, our offense could be better. I can make more shots, get more assists, get more stops but I didn’t. There’s always room for improvement,” Reid added.
Beermen head coach Leo Austria thinks his team still has work to do on the defensive end. He’s pleased with San Miguel averaging more than a hundred points a game but showed some concern with his team being fifth in points allowed, giving up 95.2 points a game.
READ: Chris Ross credits teammates for near triple-double in Beermen win
“Our defense is still lacking. If you look at the stats we’re giving up 95 points per game and that’s a lot. We cannot afford to give up that many points in the quarterfinals,” Austria pointed out. “Although, we’re averaging 101 points per game we cannot rely solely on our offense that’s why we need to improve our defense.”
Austria also took note of Reid’s relentlessness and how he showed no signs of slowing down that rubbed off on the other players.
Reid, a blue-collar worker on the court, didn’t want to rest when he had the chance to sit on the bench with the game already decided, 97-76, just halfway through the fourth quarter. But he refused even after he had gotten his triple-double with 5:40 left, Reid showed no mercy against the lowly Elite.
“I never wanna come out. I wanna win, I wanna destroy you,” Reid said with such emphasis. “I don’t just beat you because if they have the same chance, they wanna destroy you too. My goal is to win each game by as much as possible. It’s nothing personal – that’s just how I am. I wanna win every game.”
And winning, has been San Miguel’s story this conference after a stint in the Commissioner’s Cup where they won only four games and failed to make the playoffs.
The victory over Blackwater assured San Miguel of a top four finish in the standings and a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals giving the Beermen a reason to rest and prepare for the tougher task ahead.
But San Miguel doesn’t have time for such with the revved up Reid keeping sure his teammates are focused on the team’s goal and not worry about nothing else.
“I’m not worried about stat lines, I’m worried about the wins. The wins are the most important thing for a team. When you get the team going, you get the individuals going,” Reid said. “I don’t look at it as an eight-game winning streak. I look at it as one game. We just won against Blackwater and that’s the most important thing for me tonight and next is Alaska. I don’t care about an eight-game winning streak, I just wanna win the game.”
“I keep on addressing them that everyday we should keep on learning and improving because we need to maintain our ascent,” said Austria. I keep on reminding them that we’re capable of beating any team and we can win a championship. This is our opportunity and don’t let this opportunity slip away from us. It’s a challenge for the team and we like those challenges because we’re here to compete and to win.” CFC
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