A team like San Miguel can never be called “inexperienced,” but with a 0-2 start in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup head coach Leo Austria knows they will need all the help they can get.
Winning championships since 2015, the Beermen are suddenly in a bit of a fit in the season’s second conference but help has arrived in the form of the returning Renaldo Balkman.
Austria said that the biggest contribution Balkman would give to the defending champions won’t appear in the stat sheets.
“The first and biggest thing he’ll give us is his experience because he knows how to play in the PBA because he’s been here and of course he’s played in the ABL [ASEAN Basketball League],” said Austria in Filipino Thursday at Acropolis Club House after San Miguel’s practice.
Balkman is replacing Troy Gillenwater, who underwhelmed in his stint with the Beermen with just an average of 15 points, with the Commissioner’s Cup in full swing.
“We all know how he plays and he has the experience of being a winner and that’s what I think the team needs right now,” said Austria who has led the Beermen to their last five titles.
“Balkman knows how to score, he can pass, and he can play defense. He can bring so much to the team and he has a very high basketball IQ.”