THERE'S more fire in the eyes of the San Miguel Beermen as they embark on a redemption campaign in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
A franchise with a deep winning tradition, the Beermen fared way below expectations in the previous Commissioner's Cup, where they abdicated the throne without even qualifying for the quarterfinals.
"Last conference was really frustrating for us because everybody was expecting us to do well," said coach Leo Austria, who was elevated back to head coaching position halfway through the mid-season conference but fell short as the Beermen crashed out after winding up 10th at 5-7.
The multi-titled Austria noted the team's struggles to get the right import as a major factor.
The Beermen fielded four reinforcements - Quincy Miller, Torren Jones, Jabari Narcis and Malik Pope - in this failed title defense.
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"It (import problems) is not an excuse and it's a learning process for us. This time, it's All-Filipino and everybody's thinking that this is our conference. But I told them not to be complacent and although we won a lot of championships in the all-Filipino in the last decade, it's not a guarantee we could get a win easily because there's a lot of teams vying for the championship of this very prestigious conference."
CJ Perez hated the feeling of missing the playoffs for the first time since joining the league's winningest ballclub in 2021.
"Sobrang frustrating na parang first time ko na hindi nakapasok sa playoffs simulan ng nag-umpisa ako sa San Miguel," said Perez, who has won two titles with SMB highlighted by a Finals MVP plum in their Season 48 Commissioner's Cup triumph.
"Naging motivation sa amin na magtrabaho. Talagang we've been practicing hard for the last four weeks. Pinaghandaan namin talagang mag kundisyon kami at nag-focus kami sa defense, kung ano 'yung kailangan naming gawin.
"And 'yun nga nung last conference, wala namang sisisihin sa amin, sa team talaga 'yun and nagkulang kami. Pero ngayon we have chance na bumawi this conference," he added.
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The Beermen got its comeback bid off to a rousing start via a 98-89 drubbing of NLEX in its conference debut last Saturday.
Next up, though, will be a rivalry and "retro" duel with Meralco, the same squad that beat it for the Season 48 Philippine Cup title, on Wednesday in the league's 50th anniversary day offering at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. (OL)
