Onto another trip to the Finals, San Miguel Head Coach Leo Austria believes that the biggest adversity they may face lies individually.
A fourth straight trip to the all-FIlipino championship series is no joke for the Beermen. With a solid core of starters built on decorated players, they are only one of the two teams that have won a “three-peat” in the Philippine Cup.
With another daunting task on hand in the quest for title No. 4, a sweet championship will formalize their entry in the history books as the most successful team in the season’s first conference.
Despite the odds heavily favoring them after sealing the deal against Barangay Ginebra in five games, Austria admitted that the problem may not come from the opponents they would eventually face in the best-of-seven series, but within his players.
“Any amount of motivation won’t work if they are not self-motivated,” said Austria, a five-time Philippine Basketball Association champion coach.
“But you can see it in their eyes, they want to be back in the Finals,” he added.
Confident playing in their usual battleground, the Beermen knocked out the hard-fighting Gin Kings last Sunday via a 100-94 beating at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. San Miguel is tied with Talk ’N Text for successive titles in the Philippine Cup. The Tropang Texters won it from 2011 to 2013, while the Beermen have dominated the conference since 2015.
They are awaiting the winner between Magnolia and NLEX, whose series is tied at 2-2 as of press time.
Asked which team he prefers to take on, Austria beamed with readiness.
“I’m happy to see both NLEX and Magnolia playing on high level. You can never know who will be in the Finals,” the mentor said.
“What we think is about our preparations. We have to take a rest,” he added.