SAN Miguel gets back to work next week to prepare for its defense of the PBA Philippine Cup it won just last month.
SMB coach Leo Austria said the Beermen are already scheduled to return to practice following their conquest of the 49th Season Philippine Cup just last July 25, or less than a month after denying TNT a grand slam in Game 6.
The league's 50th season begins with the Philippine Cup, making the Beermen the defending champions for the next tournament.
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Austria said the Beermen weren’t able to celebrate the championship as a team properly except during a dinner shortly after beating the Tropang 5G, 107-96, in Game 6 as well as the victory celebration with fans the day after.
Sohrtly after, June Mar Fajardo and Cjay Perez headed off for Gilas Pilipinas duty while Finals MVP Jericho Cruz left for Jeddah to join Guam in the FIBA Asia Cup.
Perez even played during the team’s tune-up game against Macau Black Bears last July 28 - or three days after SMB won the championship.
In a few days, Fajardo, Perez, Cruz, veterans Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter, and the rest of the Beermen will be back on the court to prepare for the next season.
“After ng championship, hindi na kami nagkita-kita. Supposedly, magkakaroon kami ng get together. But because of two Gilas players at si Jericho, busy sila sa national team. ‘Yung ibang players, may kanya kanyang destinasyon na pupuntahan dahil gusto nilang maramdaman ‘yung panalo nila sa championship.
“Next week, babalik sila para sa first day ng practice namin,” Austria told SPIN.ph on Wednesday.
As the brief break ends, it will be important for Austria and the team to regain its focus.
“We will be having a meeting with the team dahil those championships, ‘yung last championship, that’s a thing of the past. We can’t dwell on that. We have to refocus on another mission namin,” said Austria.
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