SAN Miguel Beer has two concerns to deal with in its Game One on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, against TNT-KaTropa.
One, Terence Jones, TNT’s hard-working and super-skilled reinforcement. Burly and almost carabao-strong, Jones is shifty as a flyweight who, time and again, has shown dexterity in navigating his way into the paint when not firing from afar. Definitely, he would be a fierce foe for Chris McCullough, SMB’s equally prolific import.
Two, the fatigue factor, which could slow down the vaunted firepower of San Miguel Beer. For dreadful days now, the Beermen had been toiling damn hard, going through a punishing grind after a No. 7 finish in the eliminations to get this far.
But even if SMB manages to survive tonight’s twin terrors, that is still no guarantee of an eventual success that could yet open doors for another Grand Slam. One win does not a champion make.
The length and width of a best-of-seven war thus makes the PBA Commissioner’s Cup another mountain to conquer, SMB needing undiminished energy, pure determination and unbridled pride to prevail.
And if the Beermen are as driven, so are the KaTropa.
While SMB boasts of having won seven crowns in their last eight Finals for the best winning percentage by any team since the league’s birth on April 9, 1975, it might meet stiff resistance from a title-hungry TNT aching to finally end its victory drought.
Remember that KaTropa still have Jason Castro, whose trillion talents that made him back-to-back as Asia’s best point guard in the Fiba Cup are still as lethal as a dengue-carrying mosquito.
For SMB coach Leo Austria to win his eighth title in nine appearances, he must maximize the depth of his talent-rich lineup—and also to never waver in believing in the ability of his seven assistants to shield him from harm when the going gets tough, if not rough.
TNT coach Bong Ravena might still be wet behind the ears, but his consultant, Mark Dickel, might yet spell the difference.
And, yes, with sharp-shooter Marcio Lassiter still injured, SMB is in troubled waters.
Surely, coaching will define this series.