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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Sunday, March 11, 2018
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MANILA – San Miguel Beermen expects Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings to come up with a strong response in Game 2 of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Beermen head coach Leo Austria said that, while his team has got the upper hand in the series with their 102-90 Game 1 win last Friday, his team still cannot relax with the hard-fighting Kings.
“I think in a series it’s very important to win your first game,” said Austria. “Kung titingnan niyo iyong mga stats, malaki ang chances na ang nanalo ng first game … sa championship. But we cannot rest on our laurels.”
“We know Ginebra is playing really well before,” he added. “It might be na pagod lang talaga sila dahil this is their fourth game in eight days. Mahirap talaga, especially against our team na determined to win din.”
Another cause of concern for Austria is his prized center June Mar Fajardo, who hurt his back after being accidentally hit by Kings’ Japeth Aguilar in a rebound battle in the series opener.
“Of course we cannot sacrifice his health e. I don’t care kung manalo kami or matalo as long as healthy si June Mar. There’s so many basketball (games) ahead of him,” Austria said. “Even if it is a championship game, I don’t want to compromise his health.”
Kings head coach Tim Cone, for his part, said he will try to plot a game plan for his team to equalize the series despite dealing with fatigue and injuries among its players.
“I just felt like we just, physically, we seemed to be OK, but mentally, we were a step slow, especially our starters. We weren’t reacting quickly,” said the 20-time PBA champion coach.
“We had three grueling games against Rain or Shine, I think that just kinda caught up with us. I think we’re gonna play better as the series goes along. We’re gonna try and catch our breath,” he added./PN
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