Leo Austria returns as coach, Beermen immediately rediscover form

Former and returning San Miguel coaches Jorge Gallent and Leo Austria during a PBA game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Leo Austria admitted he hardly had any sleep after being thrust back to his old role as coach of the San Miguel Beermen.

“Nabigla ako (I was surprised),” Austria said after guiding the Beermen to a 106-88 rout of the Terrafirma Dyip on Friday that snapped a two-game slide for powerhouse San Miguel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

READ: PBA: Leo Austria back as San Miguel head coach

Once everything sinks in, however, Austria will look to get the team up to speed in what management hopes would lead to the return of San Miguel’s winning ways, at least for the midseason conference.

The Friday the 13th triumph allowed the Beermen to rise to 2-2 and possibly look at better things ahead—much in the same way they did when the squad won nine titles under Austria.

READ: PBA: San Miguel routs Terrafirma in Leo Austria’s return

Austria made no assurances on how he’ll try to completely solve things that led to the early conference woes, nor how he’ll rotate his players, given his reputation as someone who has a small rotation.

“There’s no equal opportunity here,” Austria said, referring to his usual style of giving star players extended minutes. “If you do well on the court, you’ll have a longer playing time. But to do that, you have to earn your way.”

11th-hour switch

Returning San Miguel Beermen coach Leo Austria. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

San Miguel decided on the coaching switch on the eve of the contest, with Austria caught off guard when told during San Miguel Corp.’s company-wide Christmas party.

“I was called upstairs by management and that’s the time they asked me if I can coach,” recalled Austria. “I didn’t get enough sleep because there’s a lot of pressure. In the PBA, you cannot take any team for granted.”

Austria had relinquished his role to Jorge Gallent in the 2023 Governors’ Cup after winning six Philippine Cups as the highlight of his first run, but stayed on as a consultant.

But with the move, Gallent this time slides down as consultant, which he did against Terrafirma when at times he and Austria were discussing some adjustments on the sideline.

“I was already happy as a consultant because there’s not a lot of pressure,” Austria said. “This morning, we (Gallent and I) were able to talk and it was very casual, and he told me that he’ll be there to lend his support.”

San Miguel also won with a new import in Torren Jones, who posted 24 points and 13 rebounds as replacement for Quincy Miller.

June Mar Fajardo had 21 points and 19 rebounds even as CJ Perez scored 16 and Juami Tiongson added 12 in his first game against his former team.

Terrafirma dropped to a 0-5 record.

Fajardo, the eight-time MVP, expressed total joy in having Austria back.

“We’re all glad that Pops is back. It’s been too long,” Fajardo said. “He’s back, and we won, and we just hope this goes on.”

The San Miguel cornerstone also notched a career milestone as he now has tallied 6,163 total rebounds to dislodge Purefoods legend Alvin Patrimonio at No. 5 in the PBA’s career list.