Old habits die hard

San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria has never been a boastful kind of guy.

He just speaks the truth each and every time.

“Winning is a habit, it’s a lifestyle,” Austria said Monday as the PBA drummed up the Philippine Cup title series at Sambukojin in Eastwood, Libis, by having Austria and Magnolia counterpart Chito Victolero talk about their respective chances in the best-of-seven series tipping off Wednesday.

San Miguel booked yet another trip to the Finals of the season’s most prestigious conference by flaunting its depth—that comes with remarkable poise—to overwhelm foes in the playoffs.

The Beermen will come into their latest clash with the Hotshots again as the overwhelming favorites to prevail, not only denying Magnolia the chance to get even after last season, but also to extend the conference’s unprecedented streak of title runs to five.

Austria, though, is aware that he would have to guard against complacency and overconfidence.

“Nowadays, it’s really hard. Like I’ve always said, other teams in the PBA have become more competitive. They’re all improving in terms of skill and personnel,” he said.

Magnolia has shown a lot of improvement of late, but the Hotshots will obviously come into this series as the more fatigued side.

The Hotshots won their first championship under Victolero by ruling the Governors’ Cup last season against Alaska. Making it two straight is definitely a great motivation for this bunch.

But Victolero knows what he’s up against, and promptly labeled the enemy as the “mighty” Beermen.

“We experienced winning a championship last conference, and hopefully, that gives us motivation or boost our confidence going into the series,” he said.