CHICAGO - When talking about the playoffs chances of a multi-titled powerhouse team, this one phrase should never be in the conversation.
"Their fate is no longer in their hands."
But with a 5-7 record, 10th place among 13 teams in the ongoing PBA Commissioner's Cup, San Miguel Beer finds itself in that unfamiliar spot.
READ June Mar remains hopeful amid rare time of uncertainty for SMB
With no more games left to play in the elimination round, the Beermen have been reduced to scoreboard spectators, hoping and praying that 5-6 Magnolia and 5-6 NLEX will flame out at the finish line.
Per Reuben Terrado of SPIN.ph, "a win by either the Road Warriors and the Hotshots in their final last assignments (versus Meralco and Hong Kong Eastern respectively), will oust the Beermen from quarterfinal contention."
A loss by both teams, Terrado adds, "will send the Beermen into a playoff for the No.8 (spot) against NLEX."
FROM GRAND SLAM TO GRAND MESS.
San Miguel is the winningest team in the history of the PBA with 29 championships, armed with a humongous budget and loaded with an All-Star roster that includes the most dominant center ever to play in the league - eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo.
If the lucky stars don't align, the Beermen stand to lose a 22-conference streak of playoffs appearances.
Should that happen, there will be no sympathy for the Beermen. This is a potential tragedy of their own doing.
Instead of embracing stability as the bedrock of their campaign, the flagship franchise of the SMC bloc chose chaos and confusion.
They changed coaches, from Jorge Gallent to Leo Austria, last December 13 when the Commissioner's Cup was only three games old and a record of 1-2.
Why was Gallent, who led San Miguel to a title last year, ousted so abruptly? Didn't he deserve a long leash such as Chito Victolero whose Magnolia Hotshots haven't won anything since 2018?
CAROUSEL OF IMPORTS.
Changing coaches isn't as easy as putting on a new shirt. When a new guy takes over a team, it affects everything - the system, the culture, the usage of certain players, etc.
The import situation made matters worse.
After getting rid of Quincy Miller, who appeared in three games and averaged 15.6 points and 13.3 rebounds, San Miguel unleashed a torrent of average imports in Torren Jones, Jabari Narcis and Malik Pope.
That's what happens when you get leftovers from the clearance rack. It's challenging to get quality reinforcements this time of year when leagues around the world are in full gear. San Miguel should know that, or do they?
As a result of the lack of import continuity and the relentless demand to adjust to a foreign player that will be the fulcrum of the team, the Beermen suffered.
San Miguel was eighth in points per game allowed at 100.57 per and ninth in scoring, manufacturing just 98.9 points an outing.
The Beermen are seventh in 3-point shooting (33.5 percent), 10th in fastbreak points allowed (14.3 per) and 12th in field goal shooting percentage overall (42.9).
In other words, they are terrible on defense, slow in transition, and they can't shoot.
So instead of defending the Commissioner's Cup title in the finals, San Miguel will instead defend before their loyal fan base the actions that led to this mess.
And I think the real culprit was the casual indifference of whimsically shedding coaches while parading four imports.
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