San Miguel Beer shoots for a playoff slot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup without the player that has made the Beermen almost a modern-day dynasty.
With reigning three-time MVP June Mar Fajardo on loan to national cause, the Beermen shoot for a sixth straight win Friday night against a more depleted enemy in TNT KaTropa, which is lending three of its stars to Gilas Pilipinas.
The national team plays in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) championship slated next week at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the Big Dome and the Beermen will remain a loaded bunch with Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross leading the way.
And then there’s Charles Rhodes, the import whom coach Leo Austria said was willing to take a back seat and is now the best San Miguel talent inside the shaded lane with Fajardo at the sidelines.
Rhodes is showing vast improvement each game and has shown to be a perfect fit to a team that is teeming with talent on all fronts.
But Austria is a little worried playing without the 6-foot-10 Fajardo.
“That’s big, because practically all of our plays revolve around June Mar,” Austria said. “But we have people who can step up.”
While Rhodes and the likes of Yancy de Ocampo, Jay-R Reyes and rookie Arnold Van Opstal are expected to plug the hole Fajardo’s absence will create, TNT coach Nash Racela will try to find a lot of people to fill in with super rookie RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario and Jason Castro to miss the game.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Petroleum tries to bounce back from a lethargic outing just two nights ago when the Fuel Masters, who also lent prolific rookie Matthew Wright to Gilas, slug it out with GlobalPort in the 4:15 p.m. game.
The Batang Pier will also play without its top gun—Terrence Romeo—as they resume their drive to catch a playoff bus.
Phoenix is just a slot above GlobalPort in the playoff hunt, occupying the eighth spot.