MARCUS Lee was quick to bounce back from his sour debut for San Miguel in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup, collecting 10 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks in the Beermen's 103-99 win over Converge on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Lee only had four points in his league debut against Titan Ultra, although he chipped in five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. But the 6-foot-11 Lee was apparently not satisfied with his play, even promising San Miguel coach Leo Austria that there won't be any repeat of that showing.
“After the last game, he approached me and coach Gee (Abanilla, team manager), and then he told us na next game, what happened [in] last game will never happen again. And that's what he promised to us,” said Austria.
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Even though his numbers may still be underwhelming to some, Austria likes what Lee can do outside of his scoring.
“You can see na he is still adjusting to the kind of game we have. Medyo nawawala pa rin siya but I'm so happy dun sa ginawa niyang defense and he almost had a triple double. Double figures in scoring and rebounding. He could bring [down] the ball because he has a lot of players na talagang ipine-pressure ‘yung point guard namin,’’ said Austria.
Lee said the talk with Austria is to give assurance to put in the effort after a lackluster start.
“I think as a person that's played many basketball, I've seen this happen a lot of times and I think the best thing you can do is just put confidence in your coaches and put confidence into your team and that's what that was,” said Lee, when asked about his conversation with Austria.
“It was the aggression that I knew our team could be better and this whole week was me going as hard as possible in practice so we can get everyone else going as hard as possible,” said Lee.
Lee is aware that he is joining a team with a stacked line-up, and is doing his best to fit in. His experience in winning championships in the past is helpful in the adjustment period.
Lee said that once the entire team gets its act together, San Miguel is going to be tough to beat in the import-laden conference.
“It's great because all of my career, I've been a winner so it's great going into a team that's winning and they have a winning culture so it kind of just being able to just magnify what they already do great,” said Lee, who won a championship with Tasmania Jackjumpers in Australia's National Basketball League in 2024.
“They just came off winning a championship. We had very little time to practice and kind of figure things out so we're still figuring things out in the game and you can see that sometimes, something will happen like, ‘I understand what you are thinking but we're not there yet.’ It's going to be a very scary thing when we're all on the same page and people should watch out for that,” said Lee.
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