Chris Lutz steps up for SMB

Christ Lutz. INQUIRER.net PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

In a series as close as the duel between Alaska and San Miguel, both teams sure need their own jolt of energy to catch the other team by surprise.

And on Game 1, it was Chris Lutz who zapped the Aces from the get-go, scoring nine points to be the x-factor in the 108-78 series rout. He finished with 12 points and four rebounds.

But for Lutz, anyone from their team can provide the lift he did on Friday.

“Anybody could be an x-factor. When I come in, I know I’m not going to get a ton of minutes. I know when I get in for 15 to 20 minutes, I just got to do my job, play good defense, hit open shots, and play off AZ (Reid) and June Mar (Fajardo),” he said.

He also added that throughout this season, the Beermen have seen significant contributions from all over the lineup.

“Guys have been stepping up whole year. We have a really deep bench,” he said.

“Guys like Jay-R (Reyes), Gabby (Espinas), they’re starters on other teams. David (Semerad) played great defense and had some great minutes, just like in the last Finals against Alaska. Now we have Gabby and he knows their team. He’s always staying ready and he’s a really good player. We could always rely in them. They just got to be ready.”

“We know Alaska is real deep too, they use a lot of their guys. It’s the Finals, everybody has to be ready to step up, get out there and do the job.”

Personally, though Lutz saw his minutes dip late this conference, the former Smart Gilas member said that it’s the least of his concerns, saying, “I don’t mind it at all. Whatever this team needs, it doesn’t matter as long as we win, we get closer to our goal, it’s all that matters.”