San Miguel head coach Leo Austria before the East Asia Super League. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MACAU—San Miguel won’t have a full roster at the start of the East Asia Super League: The Terrific 12 with two of its starters sitting out.
Five-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter are both nursing injuries, Alex Cabagnot recently got the flu while Kelly Nabong will arrive a day after the Beermen’s Tuesday game at Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion here.
Fajardo is still bothered by an ankle injury that has nagged him since the Fiba World Cup in China while Lassiter is still recovering from an MCL sprain in his left knee that he sustained in the quarterfinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“June Mar is on a game-by-game basis and you all saw how he fought through the injury during the World Cup and I told him that it’s the price he paid playing for your country,” said Austria in Filipino.
“Despite the injury, he still played for the Philippines and that’s a good sign for a player. Of course as the coach of his mother team, we gave him ample time to rest.”
Cabagnot had the flu on Monday and won’t be able to play for the Beermen against the Aviators while Nabong could arrive on Wednesday or Thursday after flying to the United States due to a family emergency.
Nevertheless, Austria still has one of the deepest teams in the league and has the luxury of having foreign forwards Lester Prosper and Dez Wells.
The 6-foot-10 Prosper would man the paint for the Beermen together with Christian Standhardinger while Dez Wells would fill in the small forward spot