Grand Slam far from Austria’s mind

MANILA, Philippines — With the Philippine Cup crown safely in San Miguel Beer’s trophy collection, coach Leo Austria has two more titles to capture in claiming a PBA Grand Slam this season but it’s far from his mind at the moment. The only thing that’s in his sights is the Commissioner’s Cup championship and San Miguel began its campaign for a second jewel on a sour note, losing a 121-88 blowout to NorthPort at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday.

“We’re not thinking of a Grand Slam,” said Austria during a lull in practice at the Acropolis Gym. “All we’re focused on is this conference. Every team has gotten better and it’s a challenge for us to win two in a row. The quality of imports is high. There are four former Best Imports (Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee, Phoenix’ Rob Dozier, Rain or Shine’s Denzel Bowles and San Miguel’s Charles Rhodes) and each has won a PBA championship.”

Austria said bringing back Rhodes, who led San Miguel to the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup throne, was the right decision. “Charles is a team player,” said Austria. “He doesn’t demand the ball. He’s a willing passer. He wants to involve everyone. That’s why his teammates like him. His goal is to win the championship, that’s all. What I’ve noticed is he’s improved a lot since he first came over. His outside shooting is better. He’s a veteran. He knows what to do to win.”

Rhodes said he guarantees a finals appearance because it’s only when San Miguel qualifies for the Last Dance will he fly in his wife and three kids. “Since I was here in 2017, I took about eight months off from playing to attend to my family,” he said. “I missed the PBA so when I got a call to come back, I didn’t hesitate.” 

Rhodes, 33, is coming off a stint with the ET Land Elephants in the Korean league where he averaged 18.9 points and 9.1 rebounds in 34 games. “Charles plays four or five, depending on how we want to match up,” said Austria. “Arwind (Santos) slides to three, his position whenever there are imports in the second and third conferences.  JuneMar (Fajardo) plays five while Christian (Standhardinger), four or five. We’ll be able to create mismatches especially with Arwind at three.”

Austria said he won’t be surprised if more teams change imports along the way. “Some imports may be individually talented but are they the right fit?” asked Austria. “Take NorthPort’s Prince Ibeh. I think he’s perfect for NorthPort because he’s a rim protector, a rebounder and an inside player. They’ve got a strong guy in Mo (Tautuaa) who can defend imports and shooters like Stanley (Pringle), Sean (Anthony) and Robert (Bolick). But it’s a different story in the playoffs where you want imports to be a threat. Blackwater is another tough team. (Alex) Stepheson is a good fit with Ray (Parks), Allein (Maliksi), Mike (DiGregorio) and Mac (Belo). Stepheson has a lot of shooters to go to if he’s doubled. It won’t be easy for any team to win the championship.”

Rhodes has played eight seasons in Korea where he went to four semifinals. He also saw action in Latvia and Turkey. The former Mississippi State star had tryouts with the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks but never got to play in the NBA. “When I was in school, I learned about the Colossus of Rhodes,” he said, referring to the 108-foot high statue erected on a Greek island in 280 BC and known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. “So when they called me Colossus in the PBA, it stuck. It’s a nice nickname, I like it.”