Exclusive: Words of wisdom from SMB team consultant Leo Austria
San Miguel Beermen team consultant Leo Austria has given his take on their series against Barangay Ginebra, on what they lack and what they need to do in order for them to get toe-to-toe versus their rival.
As of writing, the series is tied 2-2 and it seemed like the observations and assessments that Austria shared with Dribble Report after Game 1 have come into reality.
In an exclusive interview with Dribble Report, the nine-time PBA champion coach shared that after Game 1 of their semifinal series, SMB needed to do a lot of things because if they don’t change their approach in the game, the match-up might have a different story already.
After Game 1, coach Leo said that they must address the hot perimeter shooting of Ginebra where they scored 56 out of the 122 points.
“If you will take a look at the stats and all, we just allowed them to score in the perimeter.I think 56 points, 4-point play, 5 times, that's 20. And then a 3-point play, that's 12, that's 36, plus 20, that's 56. And they scored 122,” Austria said.
He also shared that in a semifinals series like the one they are in, SMB should not allow their opponent to put up more than 100 points especially that Ginebra doesn’t have a dominant big man on the post like the eight-time MVP of the Beermen, June Mar Fajardo.
Austria also specified that their nemesis are already intact because they have already been together for quite some time and the fluidity of their play is evident at present. And the Gin Kings also have additional rest because they finished their quarterfinals series earlier.
As for the Beermen, they took a longer route in beating Converge in the quarterfinals where it went the distance. They also played in the opening of the East Asian Super League or EASL. But that’s not an excuse for them.
“And regarding the adjustment, we have to be prepared mentally. And let us forget what happened on October 9. We cannot dwell on that. But we have to learn from the mistakes and lapses,” said Austria.
The nine-time PBA champion mentor also said that they need to focus and put more effort. And for them to be focused, they need a lot of preparation. But a day of preparation is not enough because it will zap the energy of the players.
True enough, after a two-days rest, the SMB displayed dominance in Game 4 to tie the series anew. The Beermen also won Game 2 but with just a six-point victory after falling down to the Gin Kings by 17 on their first outing. Ginebra also won Game 3 by a margin of 5 points.
As the Finals appearance is at stake, coach Leo said that entering the last dance will be a harder route.
“After getting to the semifinals, you think of a harder approach. And we're getting in there. We have a series, a best-of-seven.”
One more factor is that their import EJ Anosike is still adjusting with the system as he came out late unlike Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee who’s been in the country since 2016 and even became Gilas Pilipinas’s naturalized player so he already knew the brand of Filipino basketball.
But it seemed like Anosike had already adapted the system as he poured out 27 in their last outing to supplement JMF’s monstrous 29 points-16 rebounds performance.
The patience of the coaching staff and the players of San Miguel is coming into fruition as the series is tied already and the Beermen could actually break the odd-even trend of the match-up to take the lead and be one win away from the finals.
With that being said, coach Leo Austria asked the same to the faithful fans of the winningest ballclub in PBA history.
“To the faithful fans of the Beermen, the fans that are always there, win or lose, they're always there. Just be patient because we're doing our best to win the games. And we know that's what we're looking for. Whether it's raining or sunny they are always there. Thank you very much.”
Game 5 of the series will be on Friday, October 18, 5:00 p.m. at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
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Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.