A LOFTY standing and a mini-streak going are not enough to give San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria any sure-fire assurance that his team would remain on track towards an immediate goal in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Especially when the Beermen are now ranged against a Blackwater Bossing crew that have just shown how dangerous they could be prior to their clash with the former Sunday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
A third straight win by SMB would jack its record to 6-2 and closer to its target of gaining inclusion among the top four teams rewarded by a win-once advantage in the eight-team quarterfinals following the 11-game eliminations.
Arresting a four-game slide and keeping alive its hopes of at least playing off for the last quarterfinals slot is the main goal of Blackwater, which dropped to a 1-6 card following a 99-101 heartbreaker to Barangay Ginebra just last Friday.
"Sabi ko nga before, lahat ng team hindi p'wedeng biruin, eh, especially 'yung mga teams na naghahanap ng panalo," said Austria. "For me Blackwater may mga materials and I think it's just a matter of time and they would get good chemistry so hindi talaga p'wedeng biruin iyon."
Sponsored content:
Hopefully, not in time for the game against the Beermen, who, if they add to their recent wins over Phoenix and Terrafirma, would inch closer to their target of notching at least eight wins that should be enough to secure a top four finish.
"Ang kailangan namin eight wins. Kapag naka-eight ka malaki tsansa mong mapasama sa top four kasi dito sa gitna magkakadikit. Isang talo baba ka, isang talo akyat ka," offered Austria.
Giving Austria some measure of confidence is the fact his side has been displaying the cohesion and all-around game it needs moving forward.
"I think it's just the result of what we've been doing in practice. We're just trying to be competitive in practice and in every game trying to develop ang magandang chemistry," related Austria.
"Kailangan iyon kasi alam natin na any team in the PBA talagang p'wede mong talunin pero p'wede ka ring talunin," added Austria. "Ngayon pa, patapos na eliminations and every game is really important."
Sponsored content:
Aside from a multi-pronged offense led by June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez, SMB is also set to focus on trying to at least stymie Blackwater's fearsome troika of Sedrick Barefield, Christian David and RK Ilagan.
"Maganda inilalaro ng mga iyon and they have other guys who can hurt you kaya hindi mo talaga p'wedeng biruin," noted Austria before adding a final word of caution to his team.
"Kailangan isipin naming lagi na every team is well-prepared against San Miguel at hindi ngayon ang time para mag-relax," stated Austria. (NC)
