DEVON SCOTT–PBA Images
The entry of all three San Miguel Corp. (SMC) teams in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup semifinals has put the possibility of a sibling battle for the championship at favorable odds.
That is unless the Bay Area Dragons want to have a say on it as the guest team stands in the way of a potential first all-SMC Finals in three years.
Facing them are the San Miguel Beermen, who after a sluggish start have regained the form that enabled them to capture this season’s Philippine Cup crown.
“Bay Area is well-organized,” said assistant coach Jorge Gallent, who still called the shots for the Beermen when they swept the Converge FiberXers in their best-of-three quarterfinal series on Saturday at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Bay Area also holds the psychological edge over San Miguel when it took a 26-point win in mid-October. But things have changed since, with the Beermen now having June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo not just physically present, but almost in their usual forms.
Tough to crack
But that doesn’t take away the fact that the Beermen feel the Dragons will still be tough to crack, given their own recent showing where their local players have stepped up as fitting complements to their imports Myles Powell or Andrew Nicholson, who recently returned to action due to the former’s injured foot.
Gallent has been preaching the need to play aggressively since he was tasked to call the shots in lieu of coach Leo Austria’s absence due to health and safety protocols.
“We just have to match their aggressiveness, their intensity and we will be okay,” he said. “In our first game, we just didn’t have guys who had the advantage to go at them.
“But now, I think, Terrence is back and June Mar back, we have ways to take advantage of our offense,” added Gallent.
Romeo will try to make sure that he can match up with Bay Area guards led by Glen Yang, a silent contributor on both ends for coach Brian Goorjian.
Dilemma
San Miguel may also face the dilemma of which import Bay Area will field since there’s still the likelihood of Powell, a guard, returning after Nicholson suited up in its semis clincher against Rain or Shine.
Nicholson was the same player who suited up last Oct. 16 when his 32 points enabled the Dragons to produce a 113-87 victory over the Beermen at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo, however, may serve as at least an equalizer this time, and Gallent is also confident of their early plans against Nicholson.
“Size-wise, we’re kind of okay with them,” he said. “We have guys who can match up against him, we have talented big guys also.
“Plus, when we played them, it was Nicholson who was the import, so we can watch videos and see what went wrong … heading into our series.” INQ