Austria girds for tough road ahead

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria said yesterday he has no control over what bashers post in social media but admitted the negativism affects his family although it drives him to prove the critics wrong. Before winning the PBA Philippine Cup trophy last Sunday, San Miguel was out of the Finals for four straight conferences so the onus was on Austria to arrest the skid.

“It’s better there’s pressure than if you’re not expected to win,” said Austria. “We can’t win all our games and when we lose, that’s when the bashing starts. It’s a free country with many geniuses in social media. But I take it as inspiration. This conference, we went through two seven-game series and Meralco prepared us for TNT.”

Austria said battling TNT down to the wire was a challenge. “Roger (Pogoy), Jayson (Castro) and Mikey (Williams) are capable of scoring 60 points combined every game,” he said. “In Game 7, we were down five entering the fourth period. Chris (Ross) told the guys let’s pick up the pace and that’s what we did. Our strength is June Mar (Fajardo) but his strength is our team. June Mar couldn’t win the championship alone and everyone contributed. We’re grateful to Boss RSA (San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang) and Boss Al (San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua) for their support. Boss Al inspired us with his words of wisdom. The body language of our players changed with Boss Al, they really wanted to win.”

With San Miguel still on celebration mode, Austria said the road ahead will only get tougher. “We’re playing in the Commissioner’s Cup, EASL and Governors’ Cup,” he said. “That’s like seven straight months. For the Philippine Cup, I only went from home to gym for practice and to venue for games. That was three months. Last July, I got COVID and for the first time in eight years, I missed games.”

Austria said Thomas Robinson will suit up for the Beermen in the coming second conference. “Good credentials, good video clips showing he’s working out and determined to win a championship for us,” said Austria. “But you can never tell until an import starts playing. Will he fit or not? For EASL, our second import will be Marcus Weathers. Of course, Justin Brownlee would be the best choice but he’s playing for Ginebra in the Commissioner’s and Governors’ Cups so I don’t think he’ll be available for EASL.” Robinson, a five-year NBA vet, is arriving late next week. Weathers, a 6-5 shooting guard, is fresh out of Southern Methodist University and a two-time All Atlantic 10 honoree. Austria said Terrence Romeo may come back in the Commissioner’s Cup and the Beermen are excited to welcome his return.