SAN Miguel enters the Philippine Cup finals without a win against TNT in the PBA 49th Season.
The Beermen lost in the two times that they went up against each other, first in the Commissioner’s Cup where they were defeated, 115-97, last January 26. The Tropang 5G repeated the result last May 4 in the Philippine Cup, with a 94-89 win last May 4.
In the Governors' Cup, the two teams were in seperate groups and were not matched up with each other come the playoffs.
This time in the all-Filipino championship round, coach Leo Austria said SMB is, of course, out for a more favorable outcome.
“It’s a really different story because (the two games where they beat us), it’s already gone. This is a different ball game which is the finals,” he said.
Austria, though, isn’t expecting that it will be given on a silver platter with TNT out for another crown in the season-ending conference with a Grand Slam at stake.
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Nevertheless, Austria promises a competitive series with San Miguel also out for redemption after it was nowhere to be found in the playoff race last conference.
“We know na everybody is thinking that San Miguel is a mighty team and I’ve heard that always, but the other team is equally talented. They are really strong. They won two championships in the last two conferences," he said.
“But our team, we are here to redeem ourselves, especially in the last conference, we were not able to make it to the playoffs. It’s enough for the players to realize na it’s hard to be at the bottom of the standings.”
San Miguel wary of TNT championship experience
The Beermen are considered to be healthier entering the finals, as the Tropang 5G continue to deal with injuries to key players such as RR Pogoy and Kelly Williams and are still without Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac due to injuries that occurred way before the Philippine Cup playoffs.
Still, Austria said TNT remains formidable, as he feels that they will bank on their shared experiences after winning two championships this season.
“Regarding their situation that there are so many injured players, that’s not really a question to me. The mere fact that they are in the finals in spite of their adversities, they are really competitive," he said.
"Knowing that team, they’ve been together for a while. That’s enough experience for them to play well, especially that they are gunning for a special reward.”
The nine-time champion coach also said the Beermen's mentality isn’t to end the Tropang 5G's Grand Slam bid, but to focus on themselves in their own title quest.
As he put it, “We are not here to stop their (Grand Slam). We are here to win games and especially win a championship.”
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