Two big losses enough for SMB

MANILA, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen return to practice tomorrow, ready to put behind their sorry loss to the Talk n Text Tropang Texters in the recent PBA Philippine Cup finals.

“We’re first runners-up in the last two conferences. We’ve suffered back-to-back championship losses. We should learn from those experiences and move on,” said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin.

The Beermen, beaten by the Texters in their Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals showdown in six games, start their campaign in the Commissioners Cup on Feb. 25, going up against the Air21 Express at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.

SMB, the winningest PBA team with 18 crowns, looks to make another championship run with the help of import Ira Brown.

“Ira Brown is more of an inside player, someone that we really need. Hopefully, he can help us go all the way to win the championship after back-to-back second-place finishes,” said Agustin.

While the Beermen are still on a respite, Brown is attending individual practice under SMB trainer Alton Lister.

Recommended by Lister himself, Brown is a multifaceted athlete who played five seasons of minor league baseball before deciding to stick with basketball.

The Conroe, Texas native played the first three years of his collegiate basketball career with Phoenix College before jumping over to Gonzaga U.

At Phoenix College, the 6-foot-4 forward recorded 23 double-doubles as a freshman in 2005-06, leading to his inclusion in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American second team.

The following year, he averaged 16.1 points and 8.9 rebounds, earning first-team NJCAA All-American honors as Phoenix advanced to the national championships for the second straight season. Prior to his coming, Phoenix last made the national championships in 1965.

Brown played minor league baseball with the Gulf Coast Royals in 2001, the Spokane Indians (2002), Arizona Royals II (2003), Burlington, Iowa (2004), Shreveport Sports Central (2004) and Edmonton, Alberta (2005).

Brown at the prime of his basketball career at 28 could well be San Miguel’s biggest consideration in signing up the player.

Age factor seemed to come into play in the recent Philippine Cup finals with the young Talk n Text team running to the ground the aging SMB squad.

“I’ve analyzed the series. In all six games, they beat us in the final half. Even the games (Games Three and Four) we won, they outscored us in the closing minutes,” said Agustin.

“We commit one and two lapses, and we would collapse totally. We dive midway in the third quarter onwards,” Agustin added.

Agustin said they have to work on their mental and physical toughness if they’re to go all the way to the top in the coming Commissioners Cup.

Olsen Racela has been elevated to the coaching staff and Lordy Tugade has been reacquired to fill in the spot.