MANILA, Philippines — Matapos mabigo sa Clark bubble, handa ang San Miguel Beer na mabawi ang Philippine Cup title nito sa oras na muling umarangkada ang Season 46 ng liga.
Ayon kay Beermen standout Marcio Lassiter, hawak pa rin ng kanilang tropa ang winning formula para muling makuha ang korona.
“We compete. We still have the blueprint. Definitely our core still has a lot left in us,” ani Lassiter.
Kaliwa’t kanang dagok ang tumama sa Beermen na malaking dahilan upang mabangasan ang lineup nito.
Una na ang pagka-wala ni six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo na hindi nakasama ng Beermen sa bubble matapos sumailalim sa operasyon.
Nalagasan pa ang Beermen nang magtamo ng dislocated shoulder inju-ry si Terrence Romeo para tuluyan nang lumabas sa bubble at magpagaling sa kanyang injury.
“A lot of these things we endured inside the bubble were breaks of the game and it hurts. But at the end of the day, this group of guys we had worked our tails off and gave everything we had last conference,” ani Lassiter.
Nagawang makapasok ng Beermen sa playoffs hawak ang twice-to-beat card.
Subalit yumuko ito sa Meralco Bolts upang tuluyang ipaubaya ang Philippine Cup crown na nakuha ng Barangay Ginebra.
Sa pagbabalik-aksyon ng PBA sa Abril, umaasa si Lassiter na makukumpleto na ang kanilang tropa upang malakas na makabalik sa winning form nito.
“We have to keep working hard. I’m going to keep working hard and just try to keep getting better everyday this off-season. Going to the new season, a lot of preparation has to be done. A lot of hard work has to be done, and it’s something I’m willing to do and I’m willing to push,” ani Lassiter.