Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
It has nothing to do with coaching. It has nothing to do with chemistry. Whatever is bugging San Miguel Beer right now, Marcio Lassiter feels it can be remedied by a little more effort on the less glamorous parts of the game.
“Defense,” Lassiter said matter-of-factly moments after the Beermen dropped a 108-98 defeat to Rain Or Shine on Friday night. “That’s No. 1. [And] we can’t seem to rebound. I’d say those two were the biggest things.”
Five games into San Miguel Beer’s bid for a fifth straight conquest of the PBA Philippine Cup, the Beermen are tiptoeing on a 2-3 win-loss record. There is chatter on coach Leo Austria’s struggle to find the right mix of talent on the floor and on how introducing a star like Terrence Romeo into San Miguel’s “star-less” system has slowed the Beermen’s start, but Lassiter feels if the team starts grabbing rebounds, it would turn its fate around instantly.
“If we can’t rebound, then we can’t play our up-tempo [style],” Lassiter said. “We can’t go out and play our game … not getting the defensive rebound.”
Against the Painters, the rulers of the PBA’s most prestigious tournament were outrebounded, 58-47.
Lassiter knows the Beermen need to bring full effort into every game with every team in the field intent on ending their dynastic rule of the all-Filipino conference.
“I don’t think coming to every game … we’re just going to blow teams out,” said Lassiter, who was one of the two cagers who did the heavy lifting for San Miguel Beer against Rain or Shine.
“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.
San Miguel Beer will try to haul its record up to an even .500 when it battles struggling Blackwater next Wednesday at MOA Arena.