Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
That couldn’t be truer for San Miguel Beer as its woes continue to pile up in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup.
The Beermen lost to Rain or Shine in the nightcap of the skirmishes at Ynares Antipolo on Friday night.
“I don’t think coming to every game … we’re just going to blow teams out,” said Marcio Lassiter, who was one of the two cagers who did the heavy lifting for the Beermen.
“I know we have a big target but at the same time, we just got to keep working harder,” he added.
Lassiter had a team-best 27 points to go with June Mar Fajardo’s 24. Four more members of San Miguel chimed in double-digit scoring performances.
But the problem that night, according to the San Miguel marksman, was not rooted in scoring.
“Defense,” Lassiter said matter-of-factly. “That’s number one. [And] we can’t seem to rebound. I’d say those two were the biggest things.”
The four-time Philippine Cup champions were outplayed in the rebounding column, 47 to Rain or Shine’s 58.
Rain or Shine’s bench outscored San Miguel’s, too. Their tormentors had 66 while the Beermen only piled 25.
“If we can’t rebound, then we can’t play our uptempo (style),” Lassiter said. “We can’t go out and play our game … not getting the defensive rebound.”
The loss sends San Miguel reeling into a 2-3 card and its first back-to-back loss in the prestigious all-Filipino conference in five editions of the tournament.
The Beermen will try to arrest their skid when they go against a struggling Blackwater side next Wednesday at MOA Arena.