Beermen solve import woes with King

MANILA, Philippines -- In previous import-laden conferences, the San Miguel Beermen had a hard time maintaining a foreign reinforcement. 

Since winning the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, San Miguel has flipped through numerous imports with 10 different ones in three conferences. 

And in each import-laden conference, they failed to make the finals. 

Now, with explosive George King at the forefront of the offense, the Beermen may have found an import for keeps. 

On Wednesday evening, King erupted for 41 points to go with 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in a 128-122 win over the Converge FiberXers.

King shot 16-of-32 from the field in 41 minutes and 31 seconds of action to tow the Beermen to their third straight victory in as many games, while dealing Converge its first loss in the conference. 

After the game, San Miguel assistant coach Peter Martin said it is “very safe to say” that their import woes are no more. 

“Very safe. Very, very safe,” Martin told reporters. 

The coach stressed that King makes it easy for the entire team, not just on the court but also off it. 

“Minsan alam niyo, kukunin niya yung board, siya yung mag-ano ng play para sa amin. Makes our job really much easier and talks to the players,” Martin said. 

“At the start, he won’t be so aggressive, the first game, puro pasa nga siya e. Sabi ko nga sa kaniya, it’s up to him, he knows how to play with these guys, he knows how to motivate,” he added. 

Still, there are still a few nicks to fix, but nonetheless, King seems to be a good fit for the squad. 

“So konti pang familiarity siguro. Depensa na lang siguro, maga-adjust kami konti pa.” 

King, who was the import of Blackwater Bossing in previous conferences, is averaging 36 points, 10 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game thus far for the Beermen. 

King’s production has been big for San Miguel, whose main man, June Mar Fajardo, is still yet to be 100%. 

Martin said that Fajardo is “slowly getting there.” 

“I think he's almost there, 80% in shape. Pero masakit yung kanyang elbow, number one. Number two, before he's able to incorporate what we've been doing for the past five weeks, parang nasisira minsan pag pinapasok,” Martin said. 

“Di naman sa ano, sa dulo, kailangan namin si June Mar. Ngayon pa lang, he’s feeling his way back. Today, 26 minutes, baka next day, baka same 26 minutes again. Palaki nang palaki yung ambag niya sa team.”

The Beermen will take on the still-undefeated NLEX Road Warriors next on July 26th.