San Miguel’s 1st loss nothing but a ‘wake-up call,’ says Austria

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Rather than dwell on San Miguel’s first defeat this 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, coach Leo Austria took the 112-103 loss to TNT on Friday with a positive attitude.

“I think this loss will serve as a wake-up call for us because even from the start, I know that TNT is really a great team,” he said.

Playing their first game without three-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, Austria noted that the big man’s absence could have affected the Beermen’s flow as they suffered their first loss in six outings.

“I think our setup got a little muddled because June Mar wasn’t around. But we still have Charles (Rhodes),” he said.

Without Fajardo manning the post, the two-time PBA Coach of the Year noted that San Miguel lost the advantage which kept them invincible all conference long.

“One thing we have whenever June Mar is here are the mismatches we have in the post. Without him, we lost that advantage tonight because Kelly (Williams) and Mo Tautuaa are the ones exploiting the paint. We can’t cancel out their import because their big men are stronger. Also, TNT played really well and they came out really prepared for this game,” he said.

Fajardo, who was limited to a spectator on the sideline, agreed, while also sharing that the reason for San Miguel’s downfall was its failure to make the shots it usually takes.

“We just missed our outside shots. The usual baskets that we make weren’t there for us,” he said, putting the spotlight on the Beermen’s 43-percent shooting from the field.

Still, both Austria and Fajardo believe that the Beermen have every tool to figure things out in the games to come.

“I’m sure next time, we’ll be able to recover,” Austria said.

Fajardo added: “We’re a strong team and we believe that we can bounce back from this.” /atm