SOME people may try to put an asterisk on San Miguel's latest championship and in the process, also question the coaching credentials of Leo Austria, who just won his 10th PBA championship that put him on a pedestal few have stood on.
The argument goes that TNT did not play to its full potential because of a big number of injuries to its players, including to some of its stars such as Jayson Castro, Rey Nambatac and Poy Erram.
But that is unfair to San Miguel, and most specially to coach Leo. The coach fully deserves the accolades. He has studied hard, applied new techniques, and became a new and more responsive mentor.
READ June Mar Fajardo raises the bar, targets grand slam next
Besides, it takes a lot of talent to beat Chot Reyes, one of the country's most gifted and innovative coaches whose list of accomplishments few could match.
But Coach Leo's resume does not suffer in comparison, it also shines.
In his first full conference since returning after being unceremoniously removed as SMB coach, Austria claimed his 10th PBA title by winning the Philippine Cup, considered the most prestigious of the three conferences. It was also the club’s seventh over the last 10 seasons.
With the feat, Austria moved into solo fourth place on the all-time list of PBA coaches who have won multiple titles, trailing by one Norman Black and, incidentally, Reyes. Tim Cone is on top with 25 followed by the late Baby Dalupan with 15.
When he was out as coach, Austria did not sulk. Nor did he retreat into isolation. He made the period a time to reinvent himself. The 67-year-old said that during the time he was replaced by Jorge Gallent and became consultant in 2022, he decided to become a student of the game. That chance came when the country hosted the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
According to Austria, he was asked by management to look closely into what had been going with the team, into how Gallent had been running things.
"Before I was reinstated as head coach, ibinalik na ako sa team [as consultant] just to oversee what’s really happening,” Austria said.
Austria recalled that while this was going on, the World Cup season was also underway. He made the most of the opportunity to learn new things and broaden his knowledge.
“And I was able to watch most of the games. Every day, nasa MOA, nasa Araneta ako to figure out what was really happening in basketball internationally. And I picked up a lot of things … I kept on watching the game, semifinals, and then the tendencies of the players, the coaches, it helped a lot,” said Austria.
And so it came that when he was reappointed as San Miguel coach, Austria found the chance to apply what he learned.
Coach Leo makes changes
The first thing he changed with the Beermen was their concept of defense.
“If you notice, our defense is different from the past. And from there, inapply ko sa team namin,” said Austria. “And that's why itong mga players, pagbalik ko as a head coach, nanibago sila eh. From Day One talagang we’ve gone into basics from 1-on-1 to 5-on-5, both on offense and defense.”
The other aspect was in defining the roles of his players, most of whom could have been stars or primary options had they played for a different team.
“Because of defining the roles, alam nila eh. As long as the team is winning, there’s no problem with them. But there’s an opportunity for them to play, ibinibigay nila ‘yung quality minutes. And that's one thing, that's why we're here in the championship and winning this all-Filipino championship."
Chris Ross was one of the players who admired Austria's new coaching style. He praised the coach, saying Austria's adjustments during this finals series were on-point.
“He pushes the right buttons from that Game 7 against Ginebra. He pushed the right buttons throughout this series,” said Ross of Austria.
“He did well especially in this last game, starting Rodney (Brondial), and using his energy and bringing Mo (Tautuaa) off the bench was big-time for us because Brandon [Ganuelas-Rossr] killed us last game and they wanted to match Brandon up with Mo and we kind of messed up the rotation with that,” said Ross.
“I think we kind of got Brandon out of rhythm with that and that was all on coach. So he’s definitely pushed all the right buttons.”
Another thing Ross admired about Austria was the coach's ability to let the players create plays, do their thing inside the court without much supervision and intervention. This is the result of Austria doing his own homework by closely studying opponents.
“Coach Leo, he’s a player's coach. He kind of lets us go out there and do our thing. I’ve always said that’s his best attribute. He doesn’t get in the way of his players. He sees that we’re doing something and it’s working, he lets us do it.”
“But don’t get it wrong, he always tells me that he hasn’t slept because he’s watching film. He’s trying to make adjustments and plays for us. So he really does the work that is needed to be the coach of our team.
“It shows. He’s won 10 championships and it’s not an accident,” said Ross.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
