San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria, judging from the way he spoke on Friday night, didn’t exactly get the opponent he preferred for his Beermen in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
“That’s a strong team with a lot of good players, from the starting five down to the third group,” Austria told the Inquirer after watching Rain or Shine dismantle Blackwater, 103-80, to catch the last playoff bus.
The Painters thus advanced as the Beermen’s first round playoff foes after rallying to win at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“They have been contenders all these years,” he said of the Painters, who would need to beat San Miguel two straight times to advance to the Final Four.
“We beat them only in overtime (in the eliminations) and their confidence is still there. They know they can beat any team in the tournament,” said Austria, whose Beermen will be taking a nine-game winning streak into the playoffs as they search for a franchise-best third straight all-Filipino crown.
The Painters shook off a bum start against the Elite, slowly breaking away starting in the second period to win with plenty to spare and snap a four-game losing streak that could help them, mentally, in their clash with the defending champions.
“We just have to be positive about it,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia said after the rout of the Elite, who will bow out for the third straight conference after what had been a strong start to the season.
“If we want to make the Finals, we will still have to play San Miguel (at some time); they’re the No. 1 team,” Garcia said. “It’s good that we get to meet them early.”
Jericho Cruz came off the bench to shoot 12 points and grab the same number of boards and actually get the Painters out of a rotten 2-13 start.
There were six players in twin digits for Garcia, who said that the only way for them to beat San Miguel in their quarterfinal match-up is for them to run at every chance and offset the Beermen’s size advantage.
Art dela Cruz had 20 points and nine rebounds, with highly-touted rookie Mac Belo finishing with just six points while playing 28 minutes with a hurting left knee.