San Miguel upset proves Columbian can compete at higher level, says McCarthy

MANILA, Philippines—Historically, Columbian and San Miguel are two teams on the opposite ends of the PBA spectrum.

The Dyip, who went by Kia Sorento in their first season, was founded in 2014 and got their players through an expansion draft while the Beermen are the league’s most illustrious team with 26 championships under their name.

What transpired in the middle part of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, however, shut all that history out and threw it out the window when Columbian held off San Miguel 134-132 in overtime Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The win not only brought the Dyip’s season series against San Miguel at 2-0 but it also made the team’s players realize they could compete against the big boys of the league.

Rashawn McCarthy, once a member of San Miguel and even winning two championships with the team, said playing against the talented Beermen is always a challenge but taking that win was a big testament for them.

“It’s a big win, it just shows that we can compete at this level,” said McCarthy who was traded to Columbian with Ronald Tubid, who’s now back with the Beermen, and JayR Reyes for the draft rights to Christian Standhardinger.

“We just got to be patient and trust each other more on the court and just continue to learn.”

McCarthy was also instrumental in beating his former team after he carried the Dyip’s depleted backcourt and put up stellar numbers of 27 points, six rebounds, and 14 assists.

The Dyip are without injured players Reden Celda, JP Calvo, and Jerramy King all of whom play guard positions.

“San Miguel got all the great players over there, and we’re down some guys. Celda’s down, Calvo’s down, Jerramy’s has yet to come back from his injury so of course I’m one of the older guys on the team, so they wanted me to be a leader,” said the 29-year-old McCarthy.