MANILA – The absence of San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings’ Gregory Slaughter could mean an even playing field for the other teams in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
Meralco Bolts head coach Norman Black said that the unavailability of the two behemoths would somehow even up the court, particularly for those teams who don’t have big and dominant men.
“One of the strengths of both San Miguel and Ginebra is their size,” Black said in an interview with PBA Rush recently. “Both Fajardo and Slaughter had been a matchup problem.”
“But we all know as well that San Miguel and Ginebra is more than just a one man team. I’m sure other players will step up. For one, Japeth Aguilar is still playing for Ginebra and he’s now the tallest player out there,” he added.
Fajardo was sideline by a leg injury
that could rule him out of the 2020 season. Slaughter, meanwhile, shocked the
Filipino basketball world after announcing that he would be taking a break from
the competition.
Ilonggo Ferdinand “Bong” Ravena of TNT KaTropa also agreed with Black that the
absence of Fajardo and Slaughter opens opportunities for other teams, but it
does not mean that San Miguel and Ginebra will struggle.
“Malaking bagay for us na wala ‘yung, Fajardo but we won’t take them lightly,” noted Ravena. “Even without Fajardo it doesn’t mean they’re weak. Hindi naman namin pwedeng maliitin iyan kasi siyempre San Miguel pa rin iyan, experience-wise.”
For his part, NLEX Road Warriors mentor Joseller “Yeng” Guiao believes that even with the absence of Fajardo, the Beermen still has the tools to extend its Philippine Cup dominance.
“I don’t consider it as a wide open race because we know that San Miguel remains to be a formidable opponent. They have the championship experience and the accumulated knowledge,” Guiao said.
“Andyan pa rin naman ‘yung core ng team nila and it is still a dangerous core,” he added. “San Miguel remains deadly. I don’t think it was June Mar alone who won those championships for the team. You need to surround him with those good players.”/PN
